By Seyi Odewale
Conflicting narratives have continued to trail reports alleging that 163 worshippers were abducted on Sunday morning, during church services, in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, as security agencies, Christian leaders and opposition politicians trade sharply opposing claims.
According to the Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, the alleged abduction occurred on Sunday while worship was ongoing, at Cherubim and Seraphim Church 1 and Cherubim and Seraphim Church 2 in Kurmin Wali community.
Northern CAN Chairman, Joseph John Hayab, said the association received distress calls shortly after the incident.
“The attackers invaded the churches while worship was ongoing, locked the gates and forcefully marched the worshippers into the surrounding bush,” Hayab said.
“Some of the abducted persons later escaped, but as of Monday, 163 worshippers were still being held.”
He added that security agencies were alerted soon after the reports emerged and urged sustained rescue efforts.
However, the Kaduna State Police Command has dismissed the claims as false.
Speaking on Monday after a State Security Council meeting at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, the Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Rabiu, challenged those making the allegation to provide verifiable details.
“The story is a mere falsehood. Anyone who claims people were kidnapped should come forward with names and particulars. We will not allow conflict entrepreneurs to disrupt the peace of Kaduna State,” Rabiu said.
Rabiu said security agencies moved to Kurmin Wali shortly after the reports but found no evidence of any church attack or abduction.
The Chairman of Kajuru Local Government Area, Dauda Madaki, corroborated the police position, saying he personally visited the community with security operatives on Sunday after hearing the reports.
“We went to the church where the so-called kidnapping was said to have taken place and found no trace of any incident,” Madaki said.
“I spoke with the village head and the youth leader, and both confirmed that nothing of the sort happened.”
He questioned the credibility of the claims, noting that no list of victims had been produced.
“Till now, no one has come forward with a single name. I believe the rumour is being sponsored by people unhappy with the relative peace Kajuru is enjoying,” he added.
The Kaduna State Government also rejected the reports.
The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Sule Shuaibu, said investigations and consultations contradicted the claims.
“What was circulated in the public space was completely false,” Shuaibu said, reaffirming that “the Kaduna State Government has zero tolerance for criminality.”
*PDP faults federal security response
The controversy has since drawn a political response from the Peoples Democratic Party, which blamed the alleged incident on worsening insecurity nationwide. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the party said:
“The abduction of 163 Nigerians from their places of worship during Sunday service is a sad reminder of the normalisation of insecurity under the APC-led administration.”
“Nigerians must not live in fear when going to churches or mosques to worship.”
The PDP called for immediate rescue operations and urged President Bola Tinubu to prioritise concrete security measures over what it termed ‘narrative management’.
As of Monday evening, the sharply divergent accounts, with CAN insisting the abduction occurred on Sunday during worship, and security agencies maintaining that no such incident happened, have left the situation unresolved, with public attention focused on whether verifiable evidence will emerge to confirm or debunk the claims.
