Gunmen abducted 36 people from two churches in northwestern Nigeria on Sunday (June 19th) after attacking several villages in Kaduna state, local authorities said on Monday.
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"
36 people were abducted
" by the assailants who stormed Maranatha Baptist Church and St Moses Catholic Church in Rubu village, Kaduna state security commissioner told AFP. , Samuel Aruwan.
Three villagers were also killed, he said.
On Sunday, the kidnappers “
released two hostages, including a community leader.
Thirty-four people are still in the hands of the bandits
,” the commissioner added.
Authorities said men on motorbikes stormed several villages in Kajuru local government.
According to residents interviewed by AFP, armed men have kidnapped the majority of hostages in the two churches but also other people in the villages.
The violence comes two weeks after the massacre of some 40 parishioners in a southwestern church that shocked Africa's most populous country, in a region usually spared violence.
The north-west and the center of Nigeria are the scene of criminal gangs, the "
bandits
", who attack the villages, loot and kill the inhabitants.
These armed gangs also practice numerous kidnappings for ransom but usually target schools and travelers on the roads.
