Nigerian authorities have executed a dramatic reversal, officially confirming the mass abduction of Christian worshippers from three churches in northern Kaduna state after initially denying the incident occurred. The police retracted their previous statements on Tuesday night, acknowledging that operational units and intelligence sources had verified the kidnapping in Kurmin Wali village.
According to local residents who spoke with BBC, approximately 177 congregants were seized during Sunday morning services, with 11 managing to escape captivity. Police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin declined to provide specific numbers but confirmed security forces had been fully deployed to conduct search-and-rescue operations and area patrols.
Eyewitness accounts describe armed militants surrounding the village during the attack at approximately 10:00 local time on Sunday. “Some people attempted to flee but found themselves encircled,” one witness reported. “The assailants gathered people together and forced them to march into the surrounding bush.”
The targeted churches included two branches of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church and one Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) congregation. This confirmation contradicts earlier statements from Kaduna state police commissioner Alhaji Muhammad Rabiu, who on Monday challenged journalists to “list the names of the kidnapped victims” while claiming no evidence supported the abduction reports.
Amnesty International has condemned what it characterized as “the desperate denial” by Nigerian authorities. The human rights organization urged immediate action to address the escalating abduction crisis gradually becoming normalized across Nigeria.
This incident occurs against a backdrop of severe security challenges confronting Africa’s most populous nation. Criminal gangs conducting ransom kidnappings, Islamist insurgency in the northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, and persistent conflicts between herders and farmers collectively strain national security resources. Experts attribute the crisis to systemic corruption, inadequate intelligence sharing, and chronically underfunded local policing.
The kidnapping follows November’s abduction of over 300 students and teachers from a Catholic school in neighboring Niger state. The deteriorating security situation prompted Nigeria’s defense minister to resign last month, officially for health reasons, and triggered unprecedented US military involvement with airstrikes against Islamist militant camps on Christmas Day.
President Donald Trump subsequently warned of additional strikes if attacks against Christians in the West African nation continue. Nigeria’s foreign ministry responded that the country remains committed to protecting all citizens regardless of faith, emphasizing constructive engagement with international partners including the United States.