London presses Abuja for answers after a UK report exposes forest hostage camps while new Fulani militia raids sweep through Christian villages.
By TruthNigeria Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Fulani militia attacks intensify across Christian villages in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, the British Parliament has demanded a formal response to a HART investigation alleging secret forest camps where hostages were held in chains, starved, and traded for ransom.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) faces a June 29 deadline to answer a written question from Lord Alton of Liverpool, the Crossbench peer who cited the investigation, “Nigeria’s Hidden Gulag: Inside the Rijana Camps,” in a question submitted to the House of Lords.
In written question HL909, tabled on June 15, Lord Alton asked what assessment ministers have made of reports of hidden gulags in northwestern Nigeria, how they intend to respond, and what representations they will make to the Nigerian government to protect survivors.
The investigation, written for and published by the UK-based Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), documented testimony from survivors and victims’ families who described atrocities against Indigenous Christian communities by Fulani Terrorists across Kaduna and parts of the Middle Belt. It traced a network of forest hostage camps in Southern Kaduna and examined a kidnap economy that has drained ransom payments from impoverished farming families.
A Raid at Dusk
The parliamentary scrutiny comes as the violence described in the report continues across Southern Kaduna.
As dusk settled over Ungwan Makama Rubu, Maryamu Yohanna watched Fulani Terrorists seize her neighbors and their livestock, deepening fear across communities already traumatized by repeated attacks.
The 56-year-old Indigenous Christian farmer was shot when Fulani Terrorists attacked her community in Kufana Ward of Kajuru County on June 18, residents said. As villagers fled into nearby bushes, the assailants kidnapped three people and looted seven cows and 15 sheep.
Now recovering at a hospital in Sabon Gari Kufana, Maryamu’s ordeal reflects the plight of farming communities across Kajuru, where residents say attacks have become increasingly frequent.
Community leader Alipiri Ado said the June 18 assault led to the abduction of Katoh Gumi, 40, Hannatu Luka, 45, and Christina Danladi, 47. Villagers said the attackers arrived in the evening and met little resistance before withdrawing.
The raid followed attacks on Kutura Station community. On June 14, Fulani Terrorists kidnapped Josiah Ezekiel, 30, Jamima Josiah, 25, and Bitrus Simon, 28. A day earlier, five farmers were seized while working on their land, including Magaji Kuka, 32, Bitrus Maji, 34, Michael Mathias, 35, Joseph Idi, and Baba Jibo, 21.
For many families, farming has become a dangerous occupation. Fear of kidnapping has forced some villagers to abandon their fields at the height of planting season, threatening food production. Many now sleep in churches, schools, or temporary shelters.
A Month of Bloodshed
The violence escalated earlier in June.
On June 8, Fulani Terrorists attacked Kampani Iburu community, kidnapping nine residents and wounding three others, including two pastors. Community members said Pastor Baban Yara, 42, sustained severe injuries and was evacuated to a hospital in Jos. Two other victims were taken to medical facilities in Kaduna and Kasuwan Magani.
That same day, residents said, Fulani Terrorists attacked Sabon Gari Kufana, killing Ayuba Sabon and abducting an Igbo trader and his sales assistants.
The cycle intensified on June 7 when Fulani Terrorists invaded Kallah community, killing two Indigenous Christian residents, Jagora Dabo, 30, and Maisa Adamu, 38, and kidnapping eight others, including children aged seven and 15.
In Benue State’s Apa County, three Christian farmers were killed on June 4 while planting crops at Ikobi village. Residents identified the attackers as Fulani Terrorists. Days later, Fulani Terrorists killed Christian health worker Emie on June 8 and rice farmer Joseph Dodo Terkura on his farm in Ukum County on June 9.
According to a 19-month TruthNigeria investigation, at least 560 abductions were documented across Kaduna, Benue, Kogi, and Kwara states. Attacks often followed a similar pattern: evening raids on isolated settlements, hostages marched into the bush, and ransom demands that families frequently struggle to meet.
Pressure Reaches London
The attention follows HART’s publication of “Nigeria’s Hidden Gulag: Inside the Rijana Camps,” which won first place in the Journalism category of the charity’s inaugural HART Prize for Human Rights Journalism.
The award-winning article was written by Mike Odeh James, a conflict reporter with TruthNigeria. Drawing on survivor testimony, it documented allegations of prolonged captivity, starvation, and ransom demands within the Rijana Forest hostage network.
TruthNigeria has separately produced a series of reports on the Rijana Forest camp and other parts of the Middle Belt, documenting incidents that residents and advocacy groups say have received insufficient official attention.
The issue has also drawn scrutiny in Washington, where the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has highlighted violence by non-state actors, including Fulani militants, in discussions of religious freedom concerns in Nigeria. Proposed U.S. legislation, including the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act, would seek to increase pressure on Abuja to protect vulnerable communities. Lord Alton’s question now extends that scrutiny to London.
For residents, the parliamentary deadline offers a rare moment of international attention.
“We are farmers. Our land is our life,” said a Kajuru resident who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. “But now people are afraid to go to their farms because they may not return home.”
Whether London’s questions translate into pressure on Abuja remains uncertain. The FCDO is expected to respond by June 29. For many Indigenous Christian communities in Kajuru, the attacks represent not isolated incidents but an ongoing struggle for survival as families confront repeated killings, kidnappings, displacement, and the gradual erosion of their farming way of life.
