More than 160 churchgoers were kidnapped by armed gangs during coordinated attacks on two churches in Nigeria’s Kaduna State on Sunday, according to local clergy and police.
Gunmen reportedly stormed churches in Kurmin Wali, a forested community in the Afogo ward, at about 11:25 a.m., blocking exits and forcing worshippers into nearby bushland. Police said the attackers were heavily armed and operated in large numbers.
The head of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the north, Rev Joseph Hayab, said church leaders had confirmed that at least 172 worshippers were abducted, while nine managed to escape. The incident marks the latest in a series of mass kidnappings that have plagued northern and central Nigeria.
Kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs, locally referred to as bandits, have intensified in recent months, targeting both Christian and Muslim communities. The violence has compounded Nigeria’s wider security challenges, including insurgency in the northeast, separatist unrest in the southeast and farmer–herder clashes in the central region.
The attacks follow previous high-profile abductions, including the kidnapping of more than 300 students and teachers from a Catholic school in November. Analysts say weak intelligence sharing, corruption and underfunded policing have hampered efforts to address the crisis.
The Nigerian government maintains that it is committed to protecting citizens of all faiths, as international concern over the country’s worsening security situation continues to grow.