Fresh facts have emerged on how bandits kidnapped 176 worshippers from three churches in Kaduna State.
The worshippers including men, women, and children were abducted on Sunday, January 18, in Kurmin Wali community. While nine persons escaped shortly after the attack, the remaining captors were led inside the forest.
Providing insight into the incident, Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria (CSW-N) said that bandits captured the victims during church service and forced over 100 worshippers into the bush.
The affected churches are the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Albarka Cherubim and Seraphim 1 and Haske Cherubim and Seraphim 2, all in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.
In a statement by CSW-N’s Research and Press Officer, Reuben Buhari, he accused security operatives of obstructing independent verification of the incident.
He stated that its fact-finding team was prevented by soldiers from accessing Kurmin Wali, despite presenting valid identification.
The statement read: "After being delayed for about an hour, the team reached Makyali village and proceeded through an unmarked road toward Kurmin Wali.
"Thirty minutes later, as the team was about to enter Kurmin Wali, CSW-N encountered a military convoy, including the chairman of Kajuru Local Government, leaving the community.
"They later refused to allow the CSW-N team entry, despite repeated pleas and the presentation of full identification. The military officer who stopped the team said there was a standing order not to allow us in. Consequently, our team was escorted back to the main road leading to Kaduna."
Buhari hinted that community sources informed CSW-N that the attackers arrived on motorcycles and on foot, divided into three groups, and simultaneously attacked the three churches.
He noted that the worshippers were forced into the bush, while elderly women and young children were later released, adding that 11 persons reportedly escaped.
"As many as 167 persons were still in captivity at the time it engaged community sources, saying that efforts were ongoing to compile the names of those abducted.
The organisation accused both the Kaduna State and Federal Governments of failing to adequately protect rural communities from repeated attacks, describing the alleged mass abduction as deeply troubling.
The Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Rabiu had on Sunday dismissed the report of the abduction, describing it as falsehoods peddled by conflict entrepreneurs.
But in a statement on Tuesday, Force Public Relations, Nigeria Police Force Abuja, Benjamin Hundeyin admitted the incident.
He said that security forces had been fully deployed to the area, and that search-and-rescue operations and patrols were underway.
The police spokesperson informed that the earlier statement was not a denial of the incident but a measured response pending confirmation of details from the field, including the identities and number of those affected.
Also, the chairman of Kajuru Local Government, Dauda Madaki denied the attack, urging persons making the claims to provide the names and details of the alleged victims.
At a press conference on Monday at the Government House in Kaduna, Madaki noted that he personally led security operatives to Kurmin Wali following reports of the incident but found no evidence to support claims of an attack.
Madaki informed that the churches mentioned showed no signs of violence, while traditional rulers and youth leaders in the area also denied that any abduction took place.
A list sighted by News Rider revealed that 176 worshippers were abducted by bandits.
For years, Kaduna have been at the epicentre of bandits' attacks and abductions in several villages and places of worship.
The dense forest and rock in the communities provided a shield for the bandits to operate unhindered.
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