Gunmen abduct over 150 worshippers from 3 churches in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen abducted more than 150 worshippers in simultaneous attacks on three separate churches in northwest Nigeria, a state lawmaker told The Associated Press on Monday.

The attack occurred on Sunday in Kurmin Wali, a community in the Kajuru area of Kaduna state, while services and a Mass were underway at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), a church belonging to the denomination Cherubim and Seraphim, and a Catholic church, according to Usman Danlami Stingo, a lawmaker representing the area at the state parliament.

“As of yesterday, 177 people were missing, and 11 came back. So we have 168 still missing,” he said.

Police in Kaduna state have not commented.

No group has taken responsibility. Such attacks are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where multiple gangs and religious armed groups attack remote communities with limited security and government presence.

The northern region of the country has been hit hardest.

Similar attacks on churches have sparked allegations of the persecution of Christian by U.S. President Donald Trump and some American lawmakers. The U.S. government launched military strikes in Sokoto on Dec. 25, allegedly targeting an Islamic State group in the region.

The Nigerian government has rejected the characterization of the country’s escalating security crises as a “Christian genocide.”