In the most recent attack on worshippers, gunmen kidnapped 40 worshippers from a church in a remote hamlet in northern Nigeria, a local Christian group claimed on Monday.
Armed groups, popularly referred to as “bandits,” have been kidnapping people from highways, schools, and communities primarily in the northwest of the nation where there is scant government security.
A service was being held at Bege Baptist Church in Madala village, in the Chikun local government area, when gunmen opened fire on congregants, according to Reverend Joseph John Hayan, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna state.
One of the two Kaduna districts where armed gangs demanding ransom are most active is Chikun.
But according to Hayan, 15 of the abducted victims managed to escape from their kidnappers on Sunday night.
“We have not heard any contact for ransom or anything from them (gunmen) concerning the remaining people and we pray that the abductors would be merciful to release the remaining 25 back to their families,” Hayan said.
Several cases of attack on worship centers have recently been reported across the country. On March 25, gunmen reportedly killed Musa Mairimi, a cleric in charge of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Buda community in Kajuru LGA of Kaduna.