*No fewer than 800 benefit from interventions in Chikun, Kajuru
Eight gunmen burst into Ladidi Sunday’s home, flung her four-month-old daughter across the room and shot her husband in the head.
The attack happened at about 8pm on September 9 in Unguwan Gamo, a farming community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Southern Kaduna.
Ladidi told newsmen that the attackers spoke Fulfulde and that, in her view, they appeared to be Fulani. The identity and affiliation of the attackers have not been independently verified.
“My husband and I were about to sleep when they burst into our inner room,” she said.
“One of them grabbed Miracle, one of my twin daughters, from the hands of my husband and flung her towards the window. She landed on the ground with a thud.”
Ladidi said her husband, Sunday Musa, lunged at the attacker, but the other gunmen overpowered him, tied him up and beat him with rifle butts.
“They asked him to run,” she said. “Then, as he was moving towards the gate, they shot him on the head.”
Sunday died on the scene, according to his family, leaving Ladidi with seven children, including two sets of twins. Miracle and Marvellous are four months old, while Paul and Peter are six.
Equipping the Persecuted (ETP), a U.S.-based humanitarian organisation founded by Judd Saul, has provided Ladidi with cash assistance, bags of rice and diapers for the infant twins.
Ladidi is among several survivors of attacks in Kajuru who have received assistance from ETP this month.
On September 1, gunmen attacked Tsapta village.
Dr. Anthony Bulus told newsnen that the attackers beat him, repeatedly, slashed him with machete and dragged him along the ground before abandoning him.
He was taken to hospital after the attackers left, according to his account.
ETP subsequently provided cash assistance towards his medical treatment and recovery, the organisation said.
Also on September 1, gunmen attacked Unguwan Tsapta and abducted Rahila Elisha and her two daughters, aged three and six, according to the family.
Rahila told newsmen that she was ill and could not keep up as the attackers marched their captives into the bush.
She said the attackers beat her severely before abandoning her and taking the two girls away.
The family said the abductors were demanding N50 million, about $36,000, for the children’s release. The family said the girls remain in captivity as of this week.
Our correspondent has not been able to independently confirm the ransom demand or the current status of the children.
ETP paid for Rahila’s medical treatment, according to the group and the family.
Two months ago, gunmen attacked Gamo village, killed Anthonia Sadeek’s husband and abducted her and her three-year-old daughter, according to Anthonia.
She was seven months pregnant at the time.
Anthonia told newsmen that she gave birth while being held in a camp in Rijana. She alleged that her captors killed the newborn and threw the body away. The allegation could not be independently verified.
ETP covered her medical bills and provided food after her release.
In each of the Kajuru incidents, survivors described the attackers as Fulani-speaking or as Fulani men. Those descriptions are based solely on survivor testimony and form the basis for the ethnic identification in these cases. The identities and affiliations of the perpetrators have not been independently established by security agencies or other authorities in every incident.
Mike Odeh James, ETP representative in the Middle Belt, said the organisation intervened because many victims were struggling without adequate assistance.
“If you noticed, the government is begging the terrorists not to kill the original inhabitants of the land,” James said.
He said government proposals for restoring peace has not adequately addressed the killings or the humanitarian needs of victims.
“So Judd Saul thought it wise to provide cash, food and medical assistance to the people affected,” he said.
James said ETP’s intervention in Kajuru and Chikun had assisted more than 800 victims, including people who underwent surgery or received treatment after being released from captivity. The figures are according to ETP and have not been independently verified.
“Many had their school fees paid,” he added.
According to James, ETP has reached more than 700,000 Nigerian Christians since it began its operations in Nigeria. The claim is the organisation’s own estimate.
The organisation’s latest interventions have focused on families in communities where residents say government relief and other forms of assistance are often slow to arrive.
In Kajuru, the assistance has helped pay hospital bills, provide food and supply basic necessities such as diapers for Miracle and Marvellous — twin infants whose father was shot outside his home.