Kurmin Wali community in southern Kaduna has been thrown into panic following the mass abduction of 177 Christian worshippers, the second attack in a week.
On Sunday, gunmen attacked three churches in the community and whisked away more than 100 worshippers.
However, on Monday, the Kaduna State Government, police command and Chairman of Kajuru Local Government Area dismissed the report as falsehood after Chairman, Northern chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Joseph Hayab, confirmed the incident to journalists in Kaduna.
Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, however, confirmed the abductions late Tuesday on X, saying earlier comments by the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State, CP Muhammad Rabiu, were “were not denials of the incident but a measured response pending confirmation of details from the field, including the identities and number of those affected.”
On Wednesday, The PUNCH findings showed that Kurmin Wali residents had abandoned their homes, while farms remained untended, with schools shut indefinitely.
Linus Abu, a villager, told The PUNCH that the community had barely recovered from an earlier attack on January 11, when suspected armed Fulani militia kidnapped several residents.
“We paid N23m as ransom before those kidnapped on January 11 were released,” Abu said. “The terrorists called us on the phone and gave instructions. Some of our people had to carry the money in sacks and take it to them inside the bush.”
According to reports, 11 of the 177 abducted villagers escaped but unlike the earlier attack, the abductors have not formally demanded ransom for the 166 victims – who include women and children – still in captivity from the January 18 attack.
The PUNCH learnt the bandits demanded the return of 17 motorcycles they allegedly lost during recent military operations as a condition for the release of the victims.
“They said each bike is worth N1.7m, and we must pay for all of them before they will demand the actual ransom for the hostages,” Abu said.
It means the villagers would be forced to pay about N28.9m for the motorcycles alone, separate from the ransom for the captives.
The village head of Kurmin Wali, Ishaku Dan’azumi, during a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, said the bandits contacted a negotiator on behalf of the Kurmin Wali community and insisted that the missing motorcycles must be returned before the captives could regain their freedom.
According to Dan’azumi, the armed men accused members of the Kurmin Wali community of stealing the motorcycles and tampering with others by removing carburettors and spark plugs.
They called the negotiator on telephone and said that 17 of their motorcycles disappeared. They insisted that all the motorcycles must be returned before they will release our people,” the village head said.
He added that the bandits had not made any monetary ransom demand so far.
“Apart from the issue of the motorcycles and replacement of some parts, they have not asked for money,” he stated.
Dan’azumi further revealed that the mass abduction was linked to the ongoing military offensive against bandit camps in parts of Kajuru Local Government Area.
Already, fear has paralysed the entire community as most villagers fled their homes to neigbouring villages.
“There is no going to school, no going to farm. Most of us have ran away. We cannot stay here anymore,” Hasan Emman, a farmer, told The PUNCH on Wednesday.
“Right now, everyone is unsettled. We don’t even know where to start. How can we negotiate (with the abductors) when we are all scattered and afraid?”
The usually bustling village market was deserted during The PUNCH’s visit on Wednesday. Several shops were locked, and the few residents on the streets appeared anxious and unwilling to speak.
With no clear timeline for ransom negotiations, the fate of the abducted worshippers remains uncertain.
Family members voiced frustrations over what they described as the government’s denial of the incident and lack of security intervention.
“Our people are suffering in the forest, and the government is saying nothing happened,” one distraught resident said. “Who will help us?”
Church officials and survivors told The PUNCH that the coordinated attacks occurred at about 9am on Sunday, January 18, 2026, when armed men, wielding AK-47 rifles, simultaneously invaded multiple churches in the community.
The attackers, witnesses said, moved with precision, warning worshippers not to flee as they gathered people from different churches.
The Secretary of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Kurmin Wali, Yunana Dauji, said the assailants surrounded two branches of the church during worship and threatened anyone who attempted to escape.
“They forced worshippers to march from one church to another, gathering over 50 people from our denomination alone before leading everyone away,” Dauji said.
The Evangelical Church Winning All was also targeted. Its secretary, Joseph Bawa, said the gunmen burst into the church shouting and immediately began seizing worshippers.
“They gathered people from different churches and marched all of us together into the forest,” Bawa said.
Among those abducted is the Village Head of Kurmin Wali, Ishaku Danazumi. His son, Linus Madami, confirmed that the traditional ruler later escaped alongside 10 others.
“My father managed to escape, but his two wives and two children are still with the kidnappers,” Madami said.
“In total, 177 people were taken that morning. I narrowly escaped after struggling with one of the gunmen.”
Some captives escaped during the trek through the forest. Bawa explained that when the abducted group reached a shallow river, the kidnappers ordered everyone to cross.
“A few people deliberately slowed down. Once the kidnappers crossed to the other side, those who slowed down ran back towards the village because the attackers could not cross back quickly,” he said.
Military reacts
Multiple military sources confirmed to The PUNCH that the attack was carried out by bandits fleeing sustained military operations in parts of neighbouring Kauru Local Government Area.
According to the sources, troops had recently dislodged armed groups from key hideouts, forcing them to abandon their camps and scatter into nearby areas, including Kajuru.
“The assailants were forced out of their camps during intense military offensives and allegedly carried out the mass abduction while attempting to escape mounting pressure from security forces,” one of the sources said.
The affected camps, located around Gabachua, Legede and the Agwalla mountain and forest corridors, were described as long-established enclaves used by bandits to launch kidnappings, cattle rustling and violent attacks across Kauru, Kajuru and adjoining communities.
Another military source explained that the attack on Kurmin Wali was not random but appeared to be retaliatory.
“The bandits lost logistics, including motorcycles used for mobility and operations. The abduction was allegedly aimed at compensating for those losses and instilling fear as they fled the area,” the source disclosed.
The source added that following actionable intelligence on the movement of the fleeing bandits, troops were deployed to intercept them.
However, the attackers reportedly diverted towards the mountainous forest belts around the Karamai and Rijana axis, taking advantage of the rugged terrain to evade capture.
As a result, troops have been placed on full alert, with what military authorities described as “exploitation and hot pursuit operations” ongoing across the forest corridors and surrounding bushes.
“Operations are ongoing to stabilise the area, track the fleeing criminals and rescue the abducted victims,” a security source said.
The latest abduction has again underscored the persistent security challenges in parts of Southern and Central Kaduna, where armed banditry has thrived for more than a decade, largely due to vast ungoverned forest spaces and porous inter-state borders.
Communities in Kauru and Kajuru LGAs have repeatedly been targeted despite intensified military operations under various Federal Government security initiatives.
While recent offensives have led to the destruction of several bandit camps and the neutralisation of suspected criminals, security analysts warn that dislodged fighters often resort to attacking soft targets while attempting to evade capture.
Residents and community leaders in the affected LGAs have therefore urged the Federal and Kaduna State governments to sustain military pressure, deploy additional troops and improve intelligence gathering to protect vulnerable communities and ensure the safe rescue of the abducted worshippers.
Meanwhile, the Commandant of the 2 National Mission Force Brigade, Samaru Kataf, Navy Captain I.T. Akaazua, disclosed that troops had rescued three kidnapped victims, including a child, and destroyed several terrorist camps in parts of Kauru Local Government Area.
Speaking with The PUNCH on the telephone, Akaazua said the camps, which had for years served as enclaves for terrorists, were dismantled during sustained military operations, leading to gradual restoration of peace in the area.
“Apart from a previous operation where about 70 terrorists were neutralised, another operation carried out on Tuesday led to the rescue of three victims, including a child,” he said.
He explained that troops engaged the terrorists in fierce gun battles, noting that the criminals had an advantage due to the dense forest and difficult terrain.
“They know the terrain better than us because of the density of the forest. Most of the affected communities are remote villages with little or no security presence, and security personnel cannot be everywhere,” he said.
Akaazua added that only a few camps located deep inside extremely thick forest areas could not be accessed.
