{"id":9356,"date":"2026-01-21T05:30:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T05:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=9356"},"modified":"2026-01-21T05:30:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T05:30:47","slug":"nigerian-police-confirm-gunmen-abducted-villagers-after-initial-denials-crime-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=9356","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian police confirm gunmen abducted villagers, after initial denials | Crime News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The head of a Christian church alliance says 172 people were kidnapped by armed men, and that nine later escaped.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/8cf1b1e908e7453aa0e2d5a080fcfe32_6-1758090724.jpeg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 21 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">21 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Police in Nigeria\u2019s Kaduna State said that armed bandits abducted dozens of villagers over the weekend, after initially dismissing the incident.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement late on Tuesday, Nigeria\u2019s national police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, said an \u201cabduction\u201d had indeed occurred on Sunday, and that the police had launched security operations \u201cwith a clear focus on locating and safely rescuing the victims and restoring calm to the area\u201d.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Hundeyin said the earlier denials by officers and other officials were \u201cintended to prevent unnecessary panic while facts were being confirmed\u201d. The police statement did not say how many people were abducted.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with The Associated Press news agency, Kaduna State lawmaker Usman Danlami Stingo put the number of missing people at 168.<\/p>\n<p>The head of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the northern part of the country, Reverend John Hayab, told the Reuters news agency by phone on Monday that at least 172 worshippers were kidnapped, and that nine later escaped, leaving 163 still missing.<\/p>\n<p>Sunday\u2019s raid is the latest in a wave of mass kidnappings targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>Gangs, known in Nigeria as \u201cbandits\u201d, frequently carry out mass kidnappings for ransom, and loot villages, mainly in the northern and central parts of Africa\u2019s most populous country.<\/p>\n<p>Al Jazeera\u2019s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Kurmin Wali village in Kaduna State, said dozens of gunmen stormed the village on Sunday as people gathered to pray in three churches and abducted a quarter of the village\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo days after the attack, the community received a demand,\u201d Idris said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bandits want the return of 10 missing motorcycles they hid in the bush. For now, that is the condition for the release of the captives. But Kurmin Wali residents say they don\u2019t know where the bikes are, and they have been robbed to a point where many can hardly afford to feed themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In November, armed gangs seized more than 300 students and teachers from a Catholic school in the country\u2019s Niger State, with 50 escaping and the rest being released in two batches weeks later.<\/p>\n<p>Roughly evenly split between a mostly Christian south and Muslim-majority north, Nigeria is home to myriad conflicts, which experts say kill both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.<\/p>\n<p>But United States President Donald Trump has latched onto the security situation in Nigeria, focusing on the killing of Christians and putting Abuja under diplomatic pressure.<\/p>\n<p>In late December, the US launched strikes on what it and the Nigerian government said were armed groups in northwestern Sokoto State.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria said it approved the strikes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The head of a Christian church alliance says 172 people were kidnapped by armed men, and that nine later escaped. Published On 21 Jan 202621 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Police in Nigeria\u2019s Kaduna State said that armed bandits abducted dozens of villagers over the weekend, after initially dismissing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}