Nigerian police confirm gunmen abducted villagers, after initial denials

The caput of a Christian religion confederation says 172 radical were kidnapped by equipped men, and that 9 aboriginal escaped.

Police successful Nigeria’s Kaduna State said that equipped bandits abducted dozens of villagers implicit the weekend, aft initially dismissing the incident.

In a connection precocious connected Tuesday, Nigeria’s nationalist constabulary spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, said an “abduction” had so occurred connected Sunday, and that the constabulary had launched information operations “with a wide absorption connected locating and safely rescuing the victims and restoring calm to the area”.

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Hundeyin said the earlier denials by officers and different officials were “intended to forestall unnecessary panic portion facts were being confirmed”. The constabulary connection did not accidental however galore radical were abducted.

In an interrogation with The Associated Press quality agency, Kaduna State lawmaker Usman Danlami Stingo enactment the fig of missing radical astatine 168.

The caput of the Christian Association of Nigeria successful the bluish portion of the country, Reverend John Hayab, told the Reuters quality bureau by telephone connected Monday that astatine slightest 172 worshippers were kidnapped, and that 9 aboriginal escaped, leaving 163 inactive missing.

Sunday’s raid is the latest successful a question of wide kidnappings targeting some Christians and Muslims successful Nigeria.

Gangs, known successful Nigeria arsenic “bandits”, often transportation retired wide kidnappings for ransom, and loot villages, chiefly successful the bluish and cardinal parts of Africa’s astir populous country.

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Kurmin Wali colony successful Kaduna State, said dozens of gunmen stormed the colony connected Sunday arsenic radical gathered to commune successful 3 churches and abducted a 4th of the village’s residents.

“Two days aft the attack, the assemblage received a demand,” Idris said.

“The bandits privation the instrumentality of 10 missing motorcycles they hid successful the bush. For now, that is the information for the merchandise of the captives. But Kurmin Wali residents accidental they don’t cognize wherever the bikes are, and they person been robbed to a constituent wherever galore tin hardly spend to provender themselves,” helium said.

In November, equipped gangs seized much than 300 students and teachers from a Catholic schoolhouse successful the country’s Niger State, with 50 escaping and the remainder being released successful 2 batches weeks later.

Roughly evenly divided betwixt a mostly Christian southbound and Muslim-majority north, Nigeria is location to myriad conflicts, which experts accidental termination some Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.

But United States President Donald Trump has latched onto the information concern successful Nigeria, focusing connected the sidesplitting of Christians and putting Abuja nether diplomatic pressure.

In precocious December, the US launched strikes connected what it and the Nigerian authorities said were equipped groups successful northwestern Sokoto State.

Nigeria said it approved the strikes.