Nigeria: four-year-old girl released in Kaduna after seven months in captivity
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Leadership
A four-year-old girl, kidnapped with her pregnant mother in a village in Kaduna State, lost her mother and her newborn baby during seven months in captivity before being released on 2 November 2026. The child, seriously ill, is in hospital and her father is seeking funds to transfer her to a better-equipped hospital in Kaduna, according to Reuben Buhari, former spokesman for Governor Ibrahim Yakowa.
A four-year-old girl, kidnapped with her pregnant mother in a village in Kaduna State, Nigeria, was released on 2 November 2026 after seven months in captivity, but is in a critical condition. Her mother and her newborn baby died during detention, according to Reuben Buhari, former spokesman for the late Kaduna governor Ibrahim Yakowa, quoted by Leadership.
The mother gave birth in the bush after about 90 days in captivity; the baby died from the conditions of detention and the lack of medical care, and the mother died a few days later, leaving the child alone in the hands of her captors. The girl spent her fourth birthday in captivity, suffering from hunger, illness and loneliness. Hospitalised in an undisclosed facility, she is fighting for her life; her father is seeking financial support to transfer her to a better-equipped hospital in Kaduna.
The same weekend, bandits attacked the community of Ungwan Toka, on the Gurara dam road, in Awon ward, Kachia local government area, and kidnapped six people. The attack came a day after suspects raided the community of Akwando, in the same area, where two people were killed and twenty others kidnapped.
These kidnappings add to a series of releases and tragedies in the region: on 3 November, eight hostages were released by the security forces in Kaduna, and on 7 November, a 13-year-old Nigerian girl died after seven months in captivity.
