UK-Based Rights Foundation Calls for International Reporting on Nigeria as 38 Abducted Christians Regain Freedom

According to the CSW report, the 38 CAC members whose abduction on November 18 was caught on video, were released on November 23, reportedly following a joint response by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Department of State Security (DSS), the police and the army.

Their release came hours after the kidnappers reportedly reduced their ransom demand from N100 million per person to N20 million (approximately GBP 52,000 person to GBP 10,500).

According to the report, the state of insecurity in Nigeria is still high, with the recent incidents of continuous abduction cases including the abduction of more than 250 individuals at St.Mary’s Catholic school. members.  Fifty students are said to have managed to escape between 21 and 22 November, leaving hundreds in captivity.

This incident marked the second mass school abduction within a week. Twenty five female students kidnapped from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, on 17 November remain in captivity.

CSW was informed that while the area where the school is located is predominantly Christian, the dormitory the assailants had targeted was occupied by Muslim students.

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According to the CSW report, the Nigerian government continues to deny the existence of religious persecution despite mounting evidence of targeted attacks.

A high-level delegation led by National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu travelled to Washington in mid-November to counter what it described as “dangerous narratives” of religious persecution and possible genocide targeting Christian communities, CSW reports.

The visit reportedly secured fresh commitments to deepen security cooperation, enhance intelligence support, and boost humanitarian relief for affected communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

On 19 November, Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic Priest, publicly issued a statement rejecting the notion of genocide against Christians, insisting that no jihad was underway in any part of the country. His position was opposed by the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA) of Makurdi, in a statement saying, “What our people are experiencing bears every mark of GENOCIDE: a deliberate, calculated, and targeted attempt to eliminate communities and take over their ancestral lands.”

Mervyn emphasised that attacks against  Nigerian civilians persist and underlined the urgent need for the government of Nigeria to respond decisively to both terrorist violence and systematic repression.