Gunmen stormed three churches in Kurmin Wali, a rural community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on Sunday, January 18, 2026, seizing 177 Christian worshippers during morning services in one of the largest coordinated abductions in Southern Kaduna in recent years. Witnesses said the attackers moved from one church to another with calculated precision, gathering worshippers and marching them into nearby forest corridors without encountering resistance. In the chaos, 11 captives managed to escape during the forced trek, but 166 others remain in captivity. Days after the attack, residents reported that the abductors were sighted moving openly through forest paths between neighbouring communities with their captives, underscoring both the vulnerability of the terrain and the confidence with which armed groups continue to operate in the area.
The mass abduction quickly escalated beyond a local security crisis into a matter of international diplomatic concern after the United States raised alarm over Nigeria’s capacity to protect Christian communities. The incident coincided with the arrival in Abuja of a high-level US delegation on a week-long diplomatic mission focused on counterterrorism cooperation and the protection of vulnerable religious groups across Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The visit formed part of the United States–Nigeria Joint Working Group engagements and placed the Kaduna abduction at the centre of bilateral security discussions.
The meeting was co-chaired by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, who led the American delegation. Hooker’s remarks during the session were direct and unusually pointed, reflecting Washington’s growing unease over repeated attacks on Christian communities in parts of northern Nigeria. She said recent events showed that, despite ongoing security operations, Christian populations in certain regions remained dangerously exposed to violence, abductions and forced displacement.
Hooker specifically referenced the January 18 abduction in Kurmin Wali, stating that the Nigerian government “must do more to protect Christians and their right to practice their faith freely and safely.” Her comments came amid heightened diplomatic sensitivity after US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged violations of religious freedom — a designation Abuja has firmly rejected, insisting that insecurity in the country affects citizens of all faiths.
She outlined areas where the United States hoped to deepen cooperation with Nigeria, including deterring violence against Christian communities, investigating attacks thoroughly, holding perpetrators accountable, and creating conditions that would allow internally displaced persons to return safely to their homes. Hooker also linked progress in religious freedom and security to broader US–Nigeria relations, including trade, economic partnerships, health cooperation and joint counterterrorism objectives.
Beyond Nigeria, Hooker’s itinerary includes strategic visits to Oman, Bahrain and Italy, where she is scheduled to engage with international partners and United Nations agencies such as the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Her role, as a senior State Department official overseeing regional and bilateral policy issues, places her at the centre of Washington’s diplomatic engagements on security and humanitarian crises globally.
Responding to the concerns, NSA Nuhu Ribadu acknowledged the gravity of the Kurmin Wali abduction and reiterated that the protection of all Nigerians, regardless of religion, is non-negotiable. He stated that violence framed along religious lines would be treated as an attack on the Nigerian state itself and assured that security agencies were intensifying investigations and operations to track down perpetrators and rescue victims.
Ribadu said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had authorised expanded security deployments in vulnerable areas, enhanced intelligence coordination among agencies, and strengthened early-warning and rapid-response mechanisms. He disclosed that Nigeria was developing a national database to provide accurate, verifiable data on casualties arising from violence, aimed at improving evidence-based decision-making and accountability in security responses.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, also briefed journalists after the meeting, describing the engagement as part of sustained efforts to deepen security cooperation with the United States. He said collaboration between Nigerian security agencies and US partners had translated into operational gains through intelligence sharing and coordination in ongoing missions such as Operation Hadin Kai in the North East and Operation Fasan Yamma.
Idris further noted that the United States had pledged to deliver outstanding military equipment procured by Nigeria over the past five years, including drones, helicopters and support systems, and had expressed readiness to provide surplus defence equipment. He stressed that security agencies had clear instructions to protect communities and respond swiftly to emerging threats while reforms to early-warning systems were underway.
Meanwhile, back in Kurmin Wali, residents remained gripped by fear after reports emerged that the abductors were seen trekking with their captives between Ungwan Gamu and Maro communities. The village head, Ishaku Dan’azumi, said the sighting occurred after the bandits accused the community of inviting soldiers into the area. According to him, the abductors issued threats during a phone conversation before disappearing deeper into the forests with the victims.
Dan’azumi said the armed men claimed the presence of security operatives suggested the villagers had powerful backing. He explained that community leaders denied inviting soldiers, but communication ceased shortly afterward. The uncertainty over the captives’ location has heightened anxiety among families and complicated rescue efforts in the dense forest terrain that links several rural settlements.
Adding another layer to the crisis, the bandits reportedly demanded the return of 17 motorcycles they claimed were seized during recent military offensives, valuing them at about N28.9 million. Community sources said the demand was presented as a precondition before any ransom discussions for the captives could begin, reflecting the leverage armed groups continue to exert over isolated rural populations.
The humanitarian dimension of banditry in the area was illustrated by the testimony of 27-year-old Maimuna Babangida, who was abducted earlier in January from another Kajuru community while eight months pregnant. She recounted delivering a baby in captivity without medical assistance after being forced to trek long distances through the forest with her children and other captives under degrading conditions.
Babangida described severe food shortages, emotional distress and the absence of basic care in the bandits’ camp, saying fellow captives assisted her during childbirth. Her account has reinforced fears for the safety and wellbeing of the Kurmin Wali worshippers still being held in similar conditions deep inside forest hideouts.
Civil society groups reacted strongly to the abduction and its aftermath. The Northern Christian Youth Professionals described the attack as evidence of a failure in Nigeria’s internal security architecture, arguing that vast forest communities remain ungoverned and excluded from formal security frameworks, allowing bandits to operate freely.
The group renewed calls for a properly structured, community-driven Forest Guard system, insisting that residents familiar with the terrain should be trained and integrated into security operations. They argued that excluding local populations from security initiatives would limit the effectiveness of any forest security strategy.
Similarly, the Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum condemned the attack as “heinous and barbaric,” criticising initial denials of the incident by some local officials and describing such responses as a betrayal of public trust that could embolden criminals and delay emergency response.
These reactions have fed into a broader national conversation about early-warning failures, slow response times and communication gaps between authorities and vulnerable communities in Southern Kaduna, where decades of insecurity have left residents feeling exposed and distrustful of official assurances.