Trending:US tariff threat over GreenlandAFCON controversyGaza Board of PeaceWEF 20261 year of Trump 2.0AR Rahman communal rowArmed gangs abduct over 160 worshippers in Nigeria’s Kadunareuters • January 20, 2026, 08:16:24 ISTWhatsapp Facebook TwitterArmed gangs stormed multiple churches in Nigeria’s Kaduna State and kidnapped over 160 worshippers during Sunday services, even as local leaders and authorities dispute the scale and confirmation of the attackAdvertisementSubscribe Join Us+ Follow us On GoogleChoose Firstpost on GoogleSunday's attacks are the latest in a wave of kidnappings targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. (Reuters)Armed gangs kidnapped at least 163 Christian worshippers after storming two churches in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State on Sunday, a member of the clergy told AFP. Gangs – known in Nigeria as “bandits” – frequently carry out mass kidnappings for ransom and loot villages, mainly in the northern and central parts of Africa’s most populous country. Sunday’s attacks are the latest in a wave of kidnappings targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD“The attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush,” Reverend Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the country’s north, said on Monday. More from World 22 killed as crane collapse derails passenger train in Thailand US suspends visa processing for 75 countries from January 21“The actual number they took was 172 but nine escaped, so 163 are with them,” added Hayab. Ishaku Dan’azumi, a traditional chief of Kurmin Wali said 166 people were seized from three churches in the village during Sunday service. A security report prepared for the United Nations said “armed bandits” attacked multiple churches in the area on Sunday, abducting “over 100 worshippers”. Kaduna state police did not confirm the attack. But its chief told reporters after in Kaduna city that officers responded and went to the “alleged scene of crime” on Sunday. Quick ReadsView AllCanada weighs deploying troops to Greenland for Nato exercisesWildfires rage into third day in southern Chile as death toll continues to rise“Till now there is no information about any attack or any kidnapping,” police commissioner Muhammad Rabiu said in remarks broadcast on a local tv channel. State commissioner for internal security Sule Shauibu dismissed the “narrative” about the kidnapping as “totally false, we do not have any evidence of such”. Local chief Wali told AFP that “It is only politicians that are denying the kidnapping of our people.”STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD“They took away 177 people from three churches but 11 managed to escape.
