Kaduna: 13-year-old dies day after release from captivity after seven months

By: Austine Agbo Emmanuel

A 13-year-old girl, Hasana Bulus, has died barely a day after regaining her freedom from bandits who held her captive for seven months in Kaduna State.

Hasana was kidnapped from her home in Awon village, Kachia Local Government Area, on April 20, 2026, alongside other residents.

Former aide to late Kaduna State Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Reuben Buhari, disclosed this in a social media post on Thursday, November 5.

Narrating her ordeal, Buhari wrote: “For seven long months, this little girl was held captive in the bush, enduring pain and horrors no 13-year-old should ever have to see, let alone live through.”

He said Hasana was released on November 2 and taken to a hospital in Kachia but died the following day.

“She was finally freed on 2nd November and taken to a hospital in Kachia. On 3rd November, just a day after tasting freedom, she died,” he stated.

Buhari’s disclosure came a day after Blueprint.ng reported the abduction of 18 people, mostly women and children, and the killing of two men in a separate attack on Akwando community, also in Kachia LGA.

The attack, which occurred at about 12:30am on Wednesday, November 4, involved members of Buhari’s extended family, including his cousins, their children and grandchildren.

Recounting the incident in his social media post, Buhari wrote: “Akwando village, Kachia LGA, was attacked this morning, Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at around 12:30 am and about 18 people were kidnapped, mostly married women and children, all from my family – my cousins, their children, and their grandchildren. Two were killed.”

Those abducted include Usman Galadima, 55; Amina Ahmadu, 52; Alice Ahmadu, 45; Haske Ahmadu, 18; Magdalene Marcus, 35; Gloria Marcus, six months; Lovene Ishaya, 25; Happy Steven, 23; and Zillah Steven, one year.

Others are Afiniki Irimiya, 30; her one-year-old daughter, Jeneth Irimiya; Laraba Irimiya, 32; Sim Shagari, 30; Yangal Shagari, three; Musa Genesis, one; Miracle Genesis, 21; and two unidentified infants, a four-month-old girl and a five-month-old boy.

Buhari identified the two men killed as Irimiya Galadima, 41, and Benjamin Danlami, 32. He also said the husbands of Afiniki and Laraba Irimiya were among those killed.

He recalled that Akwando had previously witnessed the abduction of nine schoolchildren on April 26, 2026, while they were travelling to school in Kachia.

The children regained their freedom after spending 36 days in captivity.

He also said the village had been attacked on other occasions, resulting in several deaths.

In the same post, Buhari linked the latest Akwando attack to the recent release of some abductees from Awon village, saying about five people kidnapped there on April 5 had regained their freedom after approximately six months in captivity.

He added that others died in the kidnappers’ camp, while another young girl died a day after she was taken to a hospital in Kachia following her release.

The latest disclosures highlight the continuing toll of abductions on families and rural communities in Kachia, where women and children have repeatedly been among those targeted.

Efforts to reach the Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Hassan Mansur, for confirmation and comments on the attack were unsuccessful, as he could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.