Armed Islamic militants have executed a brazen act of religious persecution, storming two Nigerian churches and kidnapping over 160 Christian worshippers during Sunday services. This mass abduction, which took place in Kaduna state on January 18, 2026, exposes the deadly and intensifying threat radical Islamism poses to Christian communities. The attack continues a horrifying pattern of aggression that has already resulted in the deaths of over 125,000 believers since 2009, fueling intense criticism of the Nigerian government’s failure to protect its citizens’ fundamental right to religious freedom.
Story Highlights
- Armed gunmen raided two churches in Kaduna state on January 18, 2026, abducting 163 Christians during Sunday services.
- Victims include entire families forcibly removed at gunpoint by militants linked to Islamic Fulani herdsmen and jihadist groups.
- This attack continues a deadly pattern of aggression targeting Christians in Nigeria, where over 125,000 believers have been killed since 2009.
- Nigerian government faces intense criticism for failing to protect religious freedom and stop radical Islamic persecution of Christian communities.
Worshippers Seized During Sunday Services
Heavily armed gunmen descended on Kurmin Wali village in Kaduna state’s Kajuru district around 11:25 a.m. local time on January 18, 2026, targeting two churches filled with Sunday worshippers. The attackers blocked church entrances and forced congregants outside at gunpoint, abducting 172 individuals before nine managed to escape during the attack. Rev. John Hayab, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria’s Northern Region, confirmed 163 Christians remain captive. Kaduna state police deployed troops to track the abductors into forest hideouts, but as of January 20, no rescues have occurred and victim families anxiously await word on ransom demands.
163 Christians abducted in southern Kaduna – CAN; you’re lying, Police reacthttps://t.co/OUoKN9H1ex pic.twitter.com/p4WxCahgHt
— Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) January 19, 2026
Pattern of Anti-Christian Persecution Intensifies
This mass abduction fits a horrifying pattern of religiously motivated persecution plaguing Nigeria’s Christian population. Between July 2023 and June 2024 alone, bandits and militants kidnapped 7,568 people across 1,130 incidents, according to SBM Intelligence reports. Boko Haram and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province have systematically targeted Christians since 2009, killing at least 185,000 civilians including 125,000 believers. The April 2014 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping grabbed international attention, yet attacks persist with impunity. Just months earlier in November 2025, militants abducted 303 students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic Schools in Niger state, demonstrating how Christian institutions remain prime targets for jihadist groups seeking ransoms and territorial control.
Economic and Social Devastation for Believers
These attacks devastate Christian communities economically and spiritually. Ransoms drain resources from already vulnerable congregations—one April 2025 incident forced the Evangelical Church Winning All to pay $205,000 for 50 members’ release in Kaduna. Families like that of Afiniki Moses, who lost her husband and children in this latest raid, face unimaginable trauma. The financial burden bankrupts entire villages while fear forces churches to close or curtail services, directly attacking believers’ constitutional right to worship freely. This represents more than criminal kidnapping for profit; it constitutes systematic persecution aimed at eroding Christian presence in predominantly Muslim regions where radical Fulani herdsmen and jihadists operate with little government resistance.
Government Failures Enable Religious Persecution
Church leaders and advocacy organizations level harsh criticism at Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for failing to protect Christian citizens. International Christian Concern President Shawn Wright called for global prayer while condemning this “cruel act against worship.” Intersociety Director Emeka Umeagbalasi went further, alleging government complicity in what he termed a “grand project” against Christians, noting believers face daily killings and kidnappings. People’s Democratic Party spokesperson Ini Ememobong demanded immediate action to uphold constitutional protections for religious freedom. The disconnect between police figures describing “dozens” abducted versus church leaders’ documented 163 victims raises troubling questions about official transparency and commitment to addressing anti-Christian persecution in ungoverned rural areas where militants operate freely from forest bases.
Watch the report: Nigeria: Mass Abduction At Kaduna Churches, Police Backtracks On Kidnappings
Sources:
- Gunmen abduct dozens of worshippers at multiple Nigerian churches using ‘sophisticated weapons’
- 163 Worshippers Abducted from Two Churches in Nigeria
- Armed men kidnap over 160 worshippers at two churches in Nigeria
