Reports on Recent Abductions in Kaduna Churches Are Incontrovertible, CAN Insists

• It’s time to stop insecurity, says Obi

•PDP tasks Tinubu, says govt must end pattern

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna

Chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Caleb Maji, has insisted that the abductions of worshippers in three churches in Kurmin Wali, Kajuru Local Government Area of the state, were incontrovertible.

Maji had reacted to statements by the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Rabiu, and the Chairman of Kajuru Local Government, Dauda Madaki, who dismissed reports of the abductions as false.

Rabiu and Madaki had declared at a press conference on Monday at the Government House, Kaduna, that reports on the abductions were “mere falsehood which is being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs, who want to cause chaos in Kaduna State.”

However, in a telephone interview, yesterday, Maji, said, “The abductions took place and there should be no controversy about it. For me, there is no controversy because the abduction took place on Sunday. That’s the report I received.”

Speaking further, the CAN chairman said, “I was not in town and I am still not in town, but the report that reached me, from the Kajuru Local Government CAN Chairman who is our anchor person and the head of the church in that local government, informed me that there were abductions in three churches one ECWA Church and two C & S churches. That’s why I said there is no controversy. It is true.”

He said the Commissioner of Police and the council chairman might have spoken based on their own report, but insisted that information from the CAN chairman in Kajuru confirmed that there were attacks and abductions.

“If the police are saying no abduction took place, that is their own report, but the report that reached me said there were abductions,” he emphasised.

Maji, however, commended the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, for his relentless efforts towards security, peace and stability in the state.

He said, “Even though the abductions took place, but I want to put it on record that, we have a government and a governor that is working assiduously to ensure that peace is experienced in Kaduna; that everybody goes about with normal businesses without molestation or hinderance.

“The governor is sincerely working hard and we must support and encourage him,” he stressed, adding that the information given to him indicated that 178 people were abducted, with six escaping, while 172 were currently in the hands of the abductors.

“We are praying for those that have been abducted that God will intervene and free them and God will bring an end to this challenge of insecurity.

“We pray that the government will continue to strive and work harder until these spades of kidnapping and insecurity become a thing of the past.

“We are always willing to cooperate and assist the government in whatever way by sharing information.

“If the commissioner of police said the abductions are not true, I know that the police have their own different means of getting information.

“Perhaps the information has not reach him, that’s why I wouldn’t want to go into any controversy with him. The police have been doing quite alot and we need to encourage them to do more.”

Peter Obi: Time to Stop Insecurity is Now

Presidential hopeful, Mr. Peter Obi, has raised the alarm over reports that about 172 worshippers were abducted from churches in Kaduna State at the weekend, describing the situation as unacceptable and called for urgent action to end insecurity in the country.

In a statement, Obi lamented what he described as the persistent and unchecked spread of insecurity across Nigeria, questioning how mass abductions have become frequent occurrences in the country.

“I have just been informed that yet again, at the weekend, about 172 worshippers were abducted from churches in Kaduna. This is another unfortunate consequence of a nation where insecurity has been allowed to grow unchecked and unchallenged,” he said.

While noting that government and police authorities have reportedly denied knowledge of the incident, Obi stressed that the recurring nature of such reports, whether confirmed or disputed, points to a deeper national crisis.

“Even with official denials, we must ask ourselves hard questions. Can we continue waking up to news of mass abductions, disputed figures, and denials while citizens live in fear?” he queried.

The former Anambra State governor recalled recent incidents of insecurity in states including Benue, Zamfara, Kano, Niger, and Plateau, noting that Nigeria has continued to record alarming levels of violence despite not being at war.

“Nigeria is not at war, yet we are counting victims in numbers that rival conflict zones,” Obi said, adding that a government that fails to prioritise the protection of lives has misplaced its focus.

Obi expressed solidarity with the people of Kaduna and families affected by the reported abductions, assuring them of support and prayers.

“To the people of Kaduna, you are not alone. We stand with you, and to the families whose loved ones were taken, we share in your pain,” he said.

PDP Tasks Tinubu on Development, Says Government Must End the Tragic Pattern

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed heartfelt sympathy to the families of the 163 worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna, urging President Bola Tinubu to put an end to the pattern of attacks on worshippers.

In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ini Ememobong, the party said, ‘’Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this agonizing period of uncertainty.

‘’The abduction of 163 Nigerians from their places of worship is a sad reminder of the normalisation of insecurity which has become the new reality of Nigerians due to the horrifying security failure under the Bola Tinubu APC-led administration.

‘’According to the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kajuru Local Government Area, as quoted in several credible media sources, the attack ‘was carried out by bandits who arrived in large numbers, while the worshippers were in the middle of the service. 172 people were initially abducted, but nine of them escaped immediately after the attack.

‘’These frequent attacks on worshippers in their places of worship, irrespective of religion, represent the inability of this government to protect the constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of worship.’’

The PDP said Nigerians must not live in fear when going to churches or mosques to worship, stating that,  ‘’The entrenchment of such brazen criminality under this administration is totally unacceptable.

‘’We hereby call on the APC-led federal government to immediately commence comprehensive rescue operations to bring these kidnapped citizens home safely.

“We urge them not to dramatise this sad situation the way they did with the Niger school kidnapping, where media optics prevailed over identity protection and safeguarding during the ‘rescue and return’ processes of the victims,’’ Ememobong said.