US Raises Alarm Over Protection of Christians After 177 Worshippers Abducted in Kaduna

The United States has raised serious concerns over Nigeria’s ability to protect Christian communities following the abduction of 177 worshippers in Kaduna State, days after gunmen stormed three churches in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru Local Government Area. The attackers reportedly moved freely through forest corridors with their captives, while 11 victims escaped and 166 remain in captivity. The warning came as a high-level US delegation arrived in Nigeria on Thursday for a week-long diplomatic engagement to review counterterrorism efforts and the protection of vulnerable religious groups, during a meeting of the US–Nigeria Joint Working Group co-chaired by National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker.

Hooker said recent attacks showed that Christian communities in parts of northern Nigeria remained dangerously exposed, despite ongoing security operations, and stressed that the Nigerian government must do more to guarantee the right to worship freely and safely. In response, Ribadu said the Federal Government had intensified joint military operations, intelligence coordination, and investigations, describing violence framed along religious lines as an attack on the Nigerian state. He assured that perpetrators would be tracked and prosecuted.

Written by Adeyemi Adewale