Both the police and the British High Commission have identified the female foreign tourist killed, along with a Nigerian by suspected kidnappers in Kajuru, Kaduna state. She is Faye Mooney.
The Nigerian, identified as Danjuma Matthew Oguche by Nigeria Everyday sources, was a graduate of the Landmark University, Omuaran, Kwara State, was an Igala who hailed from Kogi State. The late 26 years old read Economics.
His parents, who live in Maharaja, a suburb of Nasarawa State, near the Federal Capital City of Abuja were distraught, along with relatives, who mourned the loss of the promising young man that worked with the British non-governmental organisation, before moving on to another.
Danjuma and the others had attended a training in Abuja before proceeding to the resort in the volatile Kajuru, where hundreds have been killed in the on-going disagreement between herdsmen and natives.
Mooney, a British national, worked with Mercy Corps Nigeria in Lagos.
Mooney, 29, from Manchester, travelled from Lagos to Kajuru Castle, where she was attacked on Friday. Her family has been contacted.
According to the police, Mooney and the Nigerian were killed by suspected kidnappers at Kajuru Castle in Kajuru Local Governor Area of Kaduna State, at about 11:30am on Friday when the attackers stormed the area shooting sporadically.
Three Nigerians were kidnapped at the Castle, but reports said two of them have been released.
The Daily Mail quoted Mooney’s boss Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Corps as saying that Mercy Corps staff are ‘heartbroken’ at the loss of the ‘dedicated’ Faye Mooney.
‘Faye was a dedicated and passionate communications and learning specialist who had worked with Mercy Corps for almost two years, devoting her time to making a difference in Nigeria, supporting our teams and the communities we work with to tell their stories of impact, and leading efforts to counter hate speech and violence.
‘A graduate of University College London and the London School of Economics who had taught in Iraq and worked in Kosovo to combat human trafficking, Faye was deeply committed to fostering cross-cultural collaboration and was an inspiration to us all.’
Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo, who gave the detail on the Police-Media WhatsApp platform said efforts were still on to rescue the other kidnapped victims and bring the perpetrators to book.
According to the PPRO, “continued efforts are still on course to rescue the kidnapped victims and bring the perpetrators to book.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the incident and the kidnappers have yet to be identified, police said.