At least 163 Christian devotees were abducted from two Kaduna State churches. A clergy member informed AFP that armed gangs stormed two churches in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State on Sunday, kidnapping at least 163 Christian congregants. Gangs, referred to as “bandits” in Nigeria, regularly kidnap large numbers of people for ransom and plunder villages, mostly in the country’s northern and central regions. The attacks on Sunday are the most recent in a string of kidnappings in Nigeria that target both Muslims and Christians.
Reverend Joseph Hayab, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the northern region of the country, stated on Monday that “the attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush.”Hayab continued, “They actually took 172, but nine escaped, so 163 are with them. Kurmin Wali’s traditional leader, Ishaku Dan’azumi, claimed that during a Sunday service, 166 individuals were taken from three local churches. According to a security assessment written for the UN, “armed bandits” kidnapped “over 100 worshippers” after attacking several local churches on Sunday.
The attack was not confirmed by Kaduna State Police. However, its commander later told reporters in Kaduna city that police arrived at the “alleged scene of crime” on Sunday.In comments shown on a local TV channel, police commissioner Muhammad Rabiu stated, “As of right now, there is no information about any attack or kidnapping.” Internal Security Commissioner of the State “Totally false, we do not have any evidence of such” is how Sule Shauibu described the “narrative” around the kidnapping.
Denied kidnapping
Wali, the local chief, told AFP, “It is only politicians that are denying the kidnapping of our people.”Eleven of the 177 persons they detained from three congregations were able to flee. “The kidnappers currently have 166 people in their grasp,” he stated.
He claimed that gunmen “who kidnap our people” had been a menace to his village. We now produce less food than we used to, which has an impact on our farming operations.Since we have been helping to pay for the release of persons who have been abducted, we have never complained to the authorities about kidnappings in our community. We have been handling the issue on our own and have never complained when up to 20 people are kidnapped.The amount of people abducted is too great for us to handle, so this time we complained to the authorities,” he stated.
Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between a Muslim-majority north and a predominantly Christian south, is the scene of numerous wars that, according to analysts, frequently murder both Christians and Muslims.
300 educators and pupils were taken from Niger
More than 300 kids and teachers were taken from a Catholic school in Niger State in November by armed gangs; 50 of them managed to flee, and the remaining children were released in two batches a few weeks later.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has taken advantage of the unrest in Nigeria by concentrating on the murder of Christians and applying diplomatic pressure to Abuja. The United States and the Nigerian government said that the strikes in late December targeted militants in the northwest state of Sokoto who were associated with the Islamic State group. Nigeria declared that the strikes were acceptable. More attacks are “likely” Kaduna is one of several states in northwest and central Nigeria that have long been terrorized by criminal gangs that invade communities, kidnap locals, and set homes on fire after plundering them. Christian farmers and Fulani Muslim herders have clashed in Kaduna State’s Kajuru area, which is a hotspot for bandit assaults.
Nigeria’s kidnappings are mostly for ransom, and the crisis has “consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry” that raised about $1.66 million between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a recent report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy. The violence is centered around competition for land and diminishing resources, although it appears to be along ethnic and religious lines.
