A former spokesperson of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Forum, Mr Luka Binniyat, has described as fake news circulating on social media that 80 kidnapped Tudun Wali victims had escaped from their abductors.
In a verified Facebook post, Binniyat dismissed the claim as false and “lies from the pit of hell,” saying none of the 166 kidnapped victims had returned.
He wrote: “There is currently news circulating in some media claiming that 80 Adara natives kidnapped by Fulani terrorist bandits 15 days ago from Kurmin Walli village in Kajuru LGA of Kaduna State have escaped and returned to the village.
“That is a disgraceful, misleading, and shameless piece of fake news. The truth is that some Kurmin Walli villagers who were not kidnapped, but had escaped and fled the village during and after the mass abduction are the ones returning.
“They are returning based on perceived or real improvement in security around Kurmin Walli. After all they have nowhere to go, that’s why they have had to endure 22 previous spate of kidnapping over the past few years. But no single person among the 166 hostages is known to escape as at the time of making this post. Not one.
“It appears pressure is being piled on some village leaders to lie, just as the initial kidnapping was officially denied by the Kaduna State Government, before the IGP later affirmed the criminality.
“Today marks 15 days of their captivity, yet there is silence from the authorities who ought to brief Nigeria on the true situation, even as more kidnappings rage across Kajuru LGA and surrounding areas.
“The press must not be misled into blunting public outrage and the pressure on the government to rescue these poor, innocent citizens who must be going through hell right now.
“Let the government officially confirm that 80 abducted churchgoers from Kurmin Walli have escaped or been rescued. Not some obscure, unauthorised, terrified villager who is tense and worried sick, with members of his family still in captivity. Security cannot be achieved by deception.”
