Dede Laugesen at the U.S. Capitol: Ransom Camps and Genocide in Nigeria

Nigerian terrorists are operating ransom camps in forested areas—described as an “open-air Auschwitz,” according to Dede Laugesen of Save the Persecuted Christians—who spoke Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.

Laugesen said kidnapping for ransom has become an “industry” that funds terror and disproportionately targets Christians, including children and the elderly.

She criticized Nigeria’s president for failing to act, noting that many ransom camps reportedly operate near Nigerian military bases.

“This is how genocide happens,” Laugesen said.

TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] Dede Laugesen: In the last year and a half, Truth Nigeria has been reporting on ransom camps in forests across Kaduna, Taraba, and Nasarawa. Many of these camps are located near military installations. Kidnapping for ransom has become an industry in Nigeria.

This is what funds the terror. It funds the slaughter and the occupation of villages that are not being returned to the people who rightfully own the land. These ransom camps are like open-air Auschwitz in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. We can’t see it because of the foliage, and you can’t get satellite imagery through that.

[00:00:52] You can’t just do drone strikes, because people live in the forest. But near military installations, ordinary people like you and me are hauled out of their villages and held in these camps. They’re starved, tied to trees, beaten every single day—and it doesn’t matter your age: infants, small children, pregnant women, the elderly. These are the people being held in starvation ransom camps, and nobody’s talking about it. Nothing will change until this kidnapping-for-ransom industry is disrupted in Nigeria. It has to be addressed. And if Buhari is going to tell us he’s protecting the Christians, he should raid those camps and free the people being held for ransom. [00:01:58] One person goes to pay a ransom for a brother or a sister. The ransom is taken, that person is freed—and the person who brought the ransom is hauled in. It’s happening to entire communities. They’re being bankrupted through ransom payments and forced into IDP camps—in Abuja, in Lagos. This is how you clear the land. This is how genocide happens.