Gunmen kidnapped 40 people from a church in a remote town in northern Nigeria on Monday, according to a local Christian group, in the latest attack on worshippers.
Armed groups, locally referred to as bandits, have kidnapped people from villages, schools, and highways, primarily in the country’s northwest, where government security is weak.
The attack occurred on Sunday, according to Reverend Joseph John Hayan, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna state, when gunmen attacked congregants during a service at Bege Baptist Church in Madala village, Chikun local government area.
Chikun is one of two districts in Kaduna where armed gangs demanding ransom are most active.
Hayan, however, stated that 15 of those kidnapped escaped from their kidnappers on Sunday night.
“We have not received any contact for ransom or anything from them (gunmen) regarding the remaining people, and we hope that the abductors will be merciful and return the remaining 25 to their families,” Hayan said.
A Kaduna police representative did not return phone calls or text messages.
