Armed men kidnapped 26 people, including a pastor and a bride, in separate raids across Nigeria, escalating nationwide fear. In Kogi State, bandits stormed a rural church in Ejiba on Sunday, abducting a clergyman and 11 worshippers, officials said.
Sokoto State suffered a similar assault overnight Saturday, where a bride, 10 bridesmaids, a mother, and baby were seized. Nigeria has seen hundreds kidnapped in recent weeks by both jihadists and criminal gangs, locally known as “bandits”.
President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide emergency Wednesday, aiming to curb the surge in abductions and growing unrest. Kogi State’s information commissioner urged isolated places of worship to “reconsider worshipping in crime-prone areas for now”.
A police helicopter has been deployed to conduct land and air operations to rescue those abducted, he added. Chacho village, already targeted in October with 13 kidnappings, faces repeated bandit attacks despite paying ransom previously, locals said.
Intelligence reports suggest that deals by neighbouring states inadvertently allowed bandits to consolidate and shift their raids elsewhere. The shift has led to more mass kidnappings in less-protected areas, raising concerns among security experts and officials.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military intervention over the persecution of Christians, a claim rejected by Nigerian authorities. Nigeria’s 230 million people live amid longstanding conflicts that have claimed both Christian and Muslim lives indiscriminately. The repeated kidnappings underscore the nation’s struggle to protect citizens, as bandits and extremists exploit security gaps across regions.