Barnabas Fund, 26 September 2022 (excerpts)
Gunmen abducted worshippers from a church service and other residents of Kaduna State, Nigeria, in a raid on 13 September.
In total 43 people were kidnapped by the suspected Islamists.
In a statement, President of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) Awemi Maisamari said, “There is still no breathing space for communities in Southern Kaduna. Terrorists, jihadists, bandits and armed herdsmen have continued to plunder and wreck communities.”
He also added SOKAPU’s “profound sympathy to indigenous communities and peaceful Fulani herdsmen affected by this cruelty”.
Pastor John Joseph Hayab, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna, added his condemnation, saying, “We appeal and call on the government to urgently do something and ensure that things like this don’t continue to happen.”
Abductions from church services and Christian communities are common in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. On Sunday 10 September a pastor was abducted by gunmen from his home in Plateau State and his wife shot in the leg.