Gunmen attacked a Baptist church in northwestern Nigeria on Sunday, abducting 25 worshippers, a religious leader said Monday. This massive attack is the latest in a series in Nigeria where insecurity will be one of the main challenges for the new President Bola Tinubu who is due to take office at the end of the month.
On Sunday, the attackers broke into the Bege Baptist Church in the Chikun region of Kaduna state, initially abducting 40 people. But 15 managed to escape afterwards, Rev. Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna state, told AFP. "Twenty-five are still being held" by the attackers, he added.
In hidden camps
A Kaduna police spokesman confirmed Sunday's attack but declined to comment immediately. Kidnappings are rife in northwestern and central Nigeria. The hostages are held in camps hidden in vast forests waiting for ransom payments, an activity that has become very lucrative. Abductions can also be an issue between opposing communities.
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Last month, 33 people were killed by gunmen in a village in Kaduna state in an attack amid a conflict between pastoralist and farming communities fighting over water and grazing land. Last year, assailants opened fire on a Catholic church in the southwestern state of Ondo, killing at least 40 people.
