Armed gangs have kidnapped dozens of people attending two churches in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, according to local police.
A senior church leader said more than 160 worshippers were abducted by gunmen during Sunday service.
It is the latest mass kidnapping in Nigeria, where both Christians and Muslims have been targeted. Gangs, known locally as “bandits”, frequently carry out such attacks in northern and central parts of the country to get ransom payments.
Describing Sunday’s attack, local police said gunmen armed with “sophisticated weapons” burst into the two churches in Kurmin Wali, a forest community in Afogo ward, at about 11:25 local time.
“The attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush,” Rev Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the country’s north, told the AFP news agency on Monday.
Speaking to Reuters, Hayab added: “Information came to me from the elders of the churches that 172 worshippers were abducted while nine escaped.”
In November, more than 300 students and teachers were seized from a Catholic school. They were later released in two successive groups. It was among a spate of kidnappings that made international headlines.
Nigeria is facing numerous security challenges – including kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs, an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, separatist violence in the south-east, and a battle between herders and farmers in the centre over access to land and water.
Experts say corruption, poor intelligence sharing and underfunded local policing have hampered efforts to tackle the various crises.
Nigeria’s defence minister resigned last month at the height of the kidnapping crisis, officially for health reasons, according to the president’s office.
The US has recently become militarily involved in Nigeria – launching airstrikes on Christmas Day on two camps run by an Islamist militant group in north-western Nigeria.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump warned of more strikes if Christians continued to be killed in the West African nation.
There are more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, which is roughly divided into a mainly Muslim north, a largely Christian south, with intermingling in the middle – and the government says people of all faiths have been victims of attacks.
A Nigerian foreign ministry spokesman responded to Trump’s warning by saying that Nigeria would continue to engage constructively with partners such as the US.
”Nigeria remains committed to protecting all citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, without discrimination,” Alkasim Abdulkadir said.
