(ZENIT News – OMPrees / Nigeria, 01.21.2026).- Just as the release of a Nigerian priest, kidnapped two months ago, was announced, the Christian community of Kaduna State, in northern Nigeria, has been struck by another attack. This time, the target was 172 Christians from two churches who were kidnapped on Sunday, January 18. The Director of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend John Hayab, told Reuters by telephone on Monday that at least 172 worshippers were kidnapped and that nine later escaped, leaving 163 missing.
Vatican News and other international media outlets, such as Al Jazeera, report that on Sunday, January 18, attackers arrived en masse, surrounded the two churches, and blocked the exits. They then forced worshippers inside both churches to flee and head into the woods. The attack occurred during religious services, and to date, no one has officially claimed responsibility, nor has any ransom demand been made.
That same Sunday morning, the release of Father Bobbo Paschal, parish priest of Saint Stephen church in the municipality of Kagarko, was confirmed. He had been kidnapped on the night of November 17th from the Rectory where he lived. The priest was released the previous day, after two months of captivity, according to an announcement by the Archdiocese of Kaduna. During the robbery that led to his kidnapping, the bandits murdered the priest’s brother. However, following the release of this priest, three other priests remain kidnapped: John Bako Shekwolo, Emmanuel Ezema, and Joseph Igweagu.
The region, considered strategic due to its location in a transition zone between the predominantly Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south, has frequently been targeted by criminal groups and armed militias, which operate by exploiting the weak State presence in rural areas. Kidnappings and attacks against religious and Christian communities are part of a broader landscape of insecurity plaguing the country.
According to the latest report from the organization OpenDoors, Nigeria remains the country where Christians suffer the most violence: in 2025, 3,490 people were killed for reasons related to their faith, representing approximately 70% of the global total and placing the country on the list of countries with an «extreme» level of persecution, according to the organization. In recent months, there has been an increase in the number of kidnappings of priests, parishioners, and Christian students,
such as the attack last November on a Catholic school in Niger State, where more than 300 students and teachers were kidnapped.
