The politicizing of the mass kidnapping of 177 Christians by Fulani terrorists, from three churches on Sunday, January 18, 2026, in Kurmin Wali, in the Local Government Area of Kajuru in the State of Kaduna, is over as the Nigerian government and the villagers where the incident happened have confirmed that indeed, the incident happened.
Over the years, Christian genocides have been the order of the day in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern part of the country, as the Northern hegemonies have resolved to Islamise the nation.
One of the Attacked Churches
While the Islamic jihadists in the region, who have been discovered to be sponsored by some powerful Northern leaders, continue to attack Christian communities, abduct Christians, destroy their communities, take over their land, rape and force them into forced labour, the government look away.
As usual, to cover the recent Christian persecution, the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Police Force and the Kajuru local government, debunked the incident.
The Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, Muhammad Rabiu, stated such a thing did not happen, stressing that police visited one of the three churches and “there was no evidence of the attack.”
Victim – Dogo Yohanna
He said the “rumors” were “sponsored by people who are not happy with the relative peace that Kajuru has been enjoying since the coming of this administration.”
However, when the reality became overwhelming, the Nigeria police reverted itself saying that it lied to douse tension.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, admitted that the initial denial by Kaduna State authorities was aimed at “avoiding unnecessary panic while the facts were being verified.”
He said, “These statements, which have since been widely misunderstood, did not constitute a denial of the incident, but rather a considered response pending confirmation of the details on the ground, including the identities and number of those involved. Subsequent checks by law enforcement and intelligence sources have confirmed that the incident did indeed occur.”
Victim – Idris Madami
The 177 Christians were abducted from Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and two parishes of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church.
Out of the 177 abducted Christians, 11 people escaped, leaving behind in the captivity of their abductors 166 captors.
Speaking to newsmen, a local, Idris Madami said that his two wives and three children, his two brothers’ wives with their three children each were among the kidnapped persons.
“In my family alone, almost 20 members of my family were among the kidnapped victims”, he stated.
Also, Dogo Yohanna, said, “I witnessed the horrible incident. I was there. When the kidnappers came, I was terrified. They gathered all the kidnapped victims from the two churches and carried them away. I managed to run away.”
Victim – Joseph
One of the abductees, Mr Joseph, one of the 11 victims who escaped from their abductors, said that the incident happened around 9 am.
He explained, “It happened on Sunday, January 18, 2026. We were in the church service around 9 am. The kidnappers came and attacked the church. They entered our church, scattered everything, and asked us to lie down. They searched us and took our money and phones. After that, they matched us to the second church. We met the worshippers of the other church lying down on the floor. They also collected everything they had. After that, they pushed us into the bush. At a point in the bush, when we got to a place, they asked us to stop. There, they gave us the punishment of our lives. They beat us mercilessly. Many of us who escaped are in the hospital now.”
He continued, “When we got to a village that the Fulani had sent the residents away, and no single person dwelt there, some of us escaped. God did not allow me to escape. On our journey, we got to a place where we had to cross a small river. We had to push one another to cross the river because the place was narrow. Unlike the younger ones, I didn’t have the power to push others to cross, and because of this, they started beating me. Other captors and the kidnappers crossed and left me there. When I realised that they were not looking at me, I found a way to escape. I followed the bush path and came back to the village.”
Joseph explained that the terrorists told them that they attacked their village because of the 17 motorcycles military men took away from them, stressing that they vowed not to release us, until their 17 motorcycles are returned.
“They told us that they kept 17 motorcycles inside the bush and that when they went to take their motorcycles, they could not find them, and that was why they kidnapped us. They said that if the motorcycles were not returned, they would carry out another attack on our village and kill anybody met there”, he stated.
Yunana Adauji, who also managed to escape from his captors, reported, “The incident took place around 9:30 am while we were having Sunday morning worship. The terrorists came in their numbers with guns and gathered worshippers together in one place. They threatened to shoot anyone who tried to escape.”
He said, “The victims kidnapped were forced into the bush, including children, women, and men, as well as sick people who were at home recuperating after surgery. We don’t know the condition of our people who were kidnapped. We need your prayers and help to see an end to these attacks.”
