Abuja, Nigeria – (African Boulevard News) – Gunmen stormed a church service on Sunday and abducted at least 25 people in Kaduna state, Northwest Nigeria.
The gunmen were said to have arrived on motorcycles and began shooting sporadically, causing pandemonium as worshippers fled for safety.
“At the sound of the gunshots, everybody scampered to safety. We forgot that they were even lying down there because the gunshots were everywhere. You can’t know where to run to. So that was how they…,” a witness recounted.
The bandits targeted the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in the village of Dankande, in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna state.
This latest incident is another in a string of kidnappings and violence that has plagued the region in recent years, despite efforts by the government to curb it.
Kaduna state has been particularly hit by such criminal activities, with hundreds of people abducted in the past year alone.
Local sources say that such activities are carried out by criminal gangs or bandits, who are looking for ransom payments for the release of those abducted.
While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack, it is believed to be the work of bandits who have been terrorizing the region in recent years.
The Nigerian government has come under increasing pressure to tackle the security challenges facing the country, but concerns remain high that the situation could deteriorate further.
A statement by the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said that Governor Nasir El-Rufai had been informed of the incident and had directed security agencies to “take necessary steps to secure the release of those abducted and ensure the safety of everyone in the general area.”
The statement added that the Governor was “monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates.” Nigeria has seen a sharp rise in kidnappings and other criminal activities in recent years, particularly in the Northwest and Northeast regions of the country.
This latest incident underscores the need for urgent action by the government to address the root causes of insecurity and to provide better security for citizens. The Nigerian people are calling for urgent action to end the wave of violence and insecurity that has ravaged the country for far too long.
