Gunmen abducted more than 150 worshippers in simultaneous attacks on three separate churches in Kaduna State, a lawmaker told The Associated Press on Monday.
The attack occurred on Sunday in Kurmin Wali, a community in the Kajuru area of Kaduna state, while services and a Mass were underway at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), another church belonging to the denomination Cherubim and Seraphim, and a Catholic church, according to Usman Danlami Stingo, a lawmaker representing the area at the state parliament.
“As of yesterday, 177 people were missing, and 11 came back. So we have 168 still missing,” he said.
Police in Kaduna state have not commented.
No group has taken responsibility. Such attacks are common in Nigeria, where multiple gangs and religious armed groups attack remote communities with limited security and government presence.
The northern region of the country has been hit hardest.
Similar attacks on churches have sparked allegations of the persecution of Christians by U.S. President Donald Trump and some American lawmakers.
The U.S. government launched military strikes in Sokoto on Dec. 25, allegedly targeting an Islamic State group in the region.
The Nigerian government has rejected the characterization of the country’s escalating security crises as a “Christian genocide.”
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
