Dozens of worshippers abducted at Nigerian churches by armed gunmen
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Reuters reported that scores of worshipers from at least two churches in Nigeria were kidnapped by armed gangs during Sunday services.
On Monday, Kaduna state police, citing conservative figures, reportedly said dozens of people were being held captive as the investigation was still in its early stages, while a senior church leader noted that more than 160 worshipers were abducted by gunmen over the weekend.
Sunday’s incident BBC said The attack, which targeted both Christians and Muslims, marked the latest mass kidnapping in Nigeria’s long series of religiously motivated attacks. Muslim Fulani militants frequently use violence to bankrupt Christian communities while extorting ransom in northern and central Nigeria.
Kaduna state police said gunmen armed with “sophisticated weapons” attacked two churches in Kurmin Wali village in Afogo district around 11:25am on Sunday, Reuters reported.
52 CATHOLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE KIDNAPPED BY GUNMAN PERSONS IN THE LATEST ATTACK IN NIGERIA: REPORT
People pass by a school in Nigeria on March 8, 2024, after mass kidnappings targeting 250 students. (Haidar Umar/AFP via Getty Images)
Rev. John Hayab, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the northern part of the country, told Reuters:
Hayab said, “I received information from church elders that 172 worshipers were kidnapped and 9 people escaped.”
Initial estimates from security agencies tend to be conservative, while community and religious leaders often report higher figures. In the days following mass kidnappings in Nigeria, disappearance and kidnapping figures often vary widely.
REPORT SAYS NIGERIA IS AT THE CENTER OF GLOBAL KILLINGS OF CHRISTIANS BECAUSE OF FAITH BY 2025
Security guards patrol an area in Janjala Village, Nigeria, on Friday, February 24, 2017, after several people were kidnapped and killed. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
He said police, soldiers and other security units were deployed to the area, and efforts were continuing to track the kidnappers and secure the release of the captives, Reuters reported.
Nigeria has experienced a dramatic increase in mass attacks by armed gangs, particularly Islamist militants who often operate from forest regions and target villages, schools and places of worship.
GUNMAN PERSONS ATTACKED THE CHURCH IN NIGERIA, TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED, OTHERS WERE KIDNAPPED
Nigeria has been named the global epicenter of Christian murders in 2025, according to the Open Doors World Watch List. While Muslims are also frequently attacked, Christians are “disproportionately targeted” and one in five African Christians face high levels of persecution, the report said.
Woman in Benue State Christian refugee camp. Christians fleeing anti-Christian violence live in the camp. (Open Doors)
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According to the Associated Press, St. Petersburg in Nigeria in November. 52 Catholic students and several staff members were kidnapped by gunmen at St. Mary’s School.
In April, the Evangelical Church Winning All, a major church based in West Africa, paid a ransom equivalent to $205,000 to secure the release of about 50 members kidnapped in Kaduna, Nigerian lawyer Jabez Musa told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Tilsley, Rachel Wolf, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
