Freedom after four months’ captivity in Nigeria

On Easter Sunday, Victoria and her three children were kidnapped by extremist militants, along with many others. After four months in captivity, she and her family were recently able to escape. Here is her story – the story of hundreds of believers in Nigeria.

Victoria sits in a hospital bed, her body thinned and emaciated by four unforgiving months of captivity in an extremist militant camp. On Easter Sunday of this year, at least seven believers were killed and 33 kidnapped in a violent attack on Ariko Village – amongst them, Victoria and her three children, Sonai (12), Patience (6) and Christy (4).

As is tragically often the case for Christians across the world, Easter Sunday became a day of targeted violence by Islamist extremists for believers across Nigeria. The First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) church and St Augustine Catholic Church in Ariko village were only two churches amongst many who were made victims of such attacks on that day.

Men, women and children were all taken to an unknown location far from towns and villages in Kaduna State. Victoria was pregnant at the time and was forced to give birth in the camp without any medical assistance. “My baby died three weeks later,” she shares.

The long journey to freedom

After months in captivity, the crucial moment came on Saturday 1 August when an opportunity to flee their captors appeared. “I was able to escape with my children. But Christy was already critically ill while we were still in the camp. Her eyes and legs were badly swollen, and she could no longer walk,” Victoria recalls. “I carried Christy on my back. Whenever I became too weak to continue, I would give her to my 12-year-old son to take over carrying his younger sister despite his own exhaustion. All four of us walked barefoot through the bush for two days without food or water.”

The family pushed on through the bush, walking until nightfall. Once morning came, they resumed their journey with no knowledge of when refuge might come. While they were still trying to find their way home, Christy tragically died from her illness.

Laden with grief and exhaustion, Victoria and her children continued, carrying Christy’s body. At last, they reached a village in Kachia Local Government Area on the afternoon of Sunday 2 August.

The residents immediately came to Victoria and her children’s aid, and the family were later moved to another community where they are now receiving essential medical care.

Sadly, they aren’t the only family with such a story of suffering. Many are still being held in militant camps – severely emaciated, critically ill and in need of urgent rescue.

Chained

After speaking to Victoria in a hospital where she is recovering, Open Doors local partners were also able to meet Bennie*, another Christian from Ariko village whose father died in the same camp that Victoria and her children were held in.

“My father was among the people who died in captivity because of the hardship they faced. According to those that escaped, he died on 5 July 2026, after exactly three months in captivity,” Bennie shares.

Two groups of people were also able to escape the confines of the camp and shared their experiences with Bennie. “The experience for them was a terrible one,” he relates. “They told us how they stayed for two weeks without food. They only had boiled water to drink. That’s how they struggled before the bandits gave them corn flour, and they started making swallow [a kind of porridge]. The men are restrained, chained in groups. They are not free to move around, they said.”

“Join us in praying”

Prayer is urgently needed for those who are still in captivity and enduring horrific conditions. “In this persecution we are facing, we are calling on all our brothers in Christ to join us in praying so that we will see an end to this, not only in Ariko and Kuturmi, but also in other communities that are facing this persecution,” Bennie pleads. “Presently in our village of Ariko, we don’t go to the farm. Pray that God will bring an end to this so that we can start going to the farm. There are persecution and hunger – since we don’t go to the farm, where we will get food? We are pleading with brothers to join us in prayer so that these attacks will stop.

“Please pray for those who were able to escape and are in the hospital, so that God will heal them,” he continues, “And also, for those who are still in the bush and are facing severe persecution and suffering, so that God in His might will bring them out alive. Others who have fled the community are not finding life easy where they are; they are displaced. Pray that God will bring an end to this situation so that people can go back home and continue farming and get food and other needs met.

“Pray for our government, that God will touch their hearts so that they will put in more effort to bring an end to these attacks, and that God will give them wisdom to fight this insecurity and bring it to an end.”

Stand with the church in sub-Saharan Africa

Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa are suffering indescribably at the hands of perpetrators of extremist violence and injustice. As well as praying, would you consider signing and encouraging others to sign the Arise Africa petition? In November, the petition will be presented to the UK government to advocate on behalf of our church family in Africa, so please take this opportunity to add your voice. The deadline is 2 November. It is so important and deeply appreciated when you join the church’s cry for justice and restoration for believers in sub-Saharan Africa. Thank you.

*Name changed for security reasons