Heavily armed gangs have stormed churches in Nigeria and kidnapped more than 160 Christian worshippers as they attended services on Sunday morning.
The coordinated raids targeted multiple places of worship in Kurmin Wali, a remote forest community in Nigeria’s Kaduna state.
“The attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush,” said Reverend Joseph Hayab, who leads the Christian Association of Nigeria in the country’s north.
Kaduna state police confirmed the attack but said officers were still working to establish the precise number of those taken.
Reverend Hayab told reporters that the total number seized stood at 172, though nine individuals managed to flee their captors, meaning 163 people remain in the hands of the armed gang.
“Information came to me from the elders of the churches that one hundred and seventy-two worshippers were abducted while nine escaped,” Reverend Hayab said.
“The actual number they took was 172, but nine escaped, so 163 are with them,” he added.
Authorities have mobilised troops alongside other security agencies to pursue the kidnappers and free those being held captive.
Heavily armed gangs have stormed churches in Nigeria and kidnapped more than 160 Christian worshippers
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A police spokesman explained that Kurmin Wali’s isolated location and poor road conditions had hampered efforts to gather accurate details in the immediate aftermath of the raid.
Such discrepancies in casualty figures are common following mass abductions in Nigeria.
Official sources typically offer more cautious estimates due to the difficulty in gathering information, while religious and community leaders often report higher numbers.
Nigeria’s Christian population faces severe persecution, particularly in the northern regions where extremist Islamist groups like Boko Haram and ethnic Fulani militants operate with relative impunity.
More than 37,000 deaths have been linked to Islamic extremism in Nigeria since 2011 | GETTYThese armed factions target vulnerable communities for financial, territorial and political gain, leading to more than 37,000 deaths linked to Islamic extremism in Nigeria since 2011.
According to Open Doors, a worldwide Christian charity, 12 states in the north have implemented Sharia law, where Christians are treated as second-class citizens.
The non-profit reported that 2025 has been blighted with attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
Christian women also face uniquely horrific abuse, targeted by sexual assaults and forced into sexual slavery or marriage.
On Christmas Day, the US struck two camps run by an Islamist militant group in north-western Nigeria
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Open Doors told the story of Rifkatu, who suffered kidnapping and rape by Islamist extremists.
“The one that carried me on his motorbike, he asked why I was crying,” she recalled, adding: “I told him I am married, but he said, ‘If your husband were strong, he would have rescued you from our hands.’”
US President Donald Trump has previously committed military power to address the persecution of Christians in the West African country.
On Christmas Day, the US struck two camps run by an Islamist militant group in north-western Nigeria.
