The chairs strewn across the floor of one of the churches raided last month hints
All the worshippers kidnapped by gunmen from churches in a village in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state have now been released more than a fortnight after their abduction, according to officials.
Gunmen raided Kurmin Wali on 18 January as services were going on. Residents told the BBC that 177 people were taken away in all, with 11 escaping shortly after.
A further 80, who had fled from their captors and hid in neighbouring villages for fear of being taken again, returned home earlier this week.
The police have not revealed what led to the release of the last group of victims. It is not clear who was responsible, but the mass abduction was part of a wave of kidnappings that had hit the country.
Last month’s raid was initially denied by police, who only confirmed the details two days later.
The official response drew criticism from Amnesty International, which accused Nigerian authorities of “desperate denial”.
Kaduna state governor Uba Sani released a statement on X, saying those freed will be reunited with their families in “due course”.
”They will be medically and psychologically certified fit… and reclaim the rhythms of normal life,” he wrote.
The BBC asked the police for more details about what led to the release, but did not get a response.
Rev John Hayab, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Northern Nigeria, said the community was “celebrating [the abductees’] safe return” and their “rescue”, adding that people had “been in pain” worrying about their situation in the bush.
Hayab said the freed worshippers were at the headquarters of the intelligence police in Kaduna, where they were undergoing medical checks.
“So far, I think they are in good shape,” he said.
He also said they were “grateful to the government and security agencies for whatever they did and how they went about it”.
Nigeria faces multiple, overlapping security challenges beyond kidnappings, including an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, separatist violence in the south-east, and frequent clashes between herders and farmers in central regions over land and water.
Security experts say efforts to tackle these crises are hampered by corruption, poor intelligence sharing, and underfunded local police forces.
The security situation has drawn international attention.
In December, the US conducted airstrikes in north-western Nigeria on Christmas Day, targeting two camps run by an Islamist militant group.
Following the action, President Donald Trump warned of further strikes if attacks on Christians in the West African nation continued.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is home to more than 250 ethnic groups and is roughly divided between a predominantly Muslim north and a largely Christian south, with significant mixing in central regions.
The government maintains that people of all faiths have been victims of the widespread violence.