Thirteen Christians have been abducted by a militia group in Nigeria following a skirmish in Kogi State.
The incident began with an attack by gunmen on the First Evangelical Church Winning All during a Sunday service. Five of the attackers were killed when a band of local hunters put up armed resistance.
Local reports suggest that the militant group were driven off by vigilantes during an attempted attack on a school three weeks ago.
Nigeria’s security services have often been criticised for their inability to properly prevent such attacks. Often absent, even when they are present, the security forces have sometimes been too ill-equipped to do anything more than divert militants away from one target and towards another.
In response to the constant stream of attacks, last month Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a near doubling of the police force and declared a nationwide security emergency.
The security services are now working with the hunters to find the 13 people who were abducted in the attack. The search is centred on Ejiba forest.
Since mid-November there have been at least eight attacks, resulting in five deaths and well over 180 people kidnapped, most of whom remain in captivity. More than 300 pupils and 12 staff were kidnapped in a single attack on a Catholic school in November. Over 150 have since been released or escaped.
There are concerns that the Christmas season could see an escalation of violence. Earlier this year Catholic bishop Wilfred Anagbe said that massacres during Christian festivals were becoming “customary” in parts of the country. In 2023 Fulani militants launched a series of devastating attacks on Christmas Eve, burning down eight churches and killing hundreds.
Of the latest outrages, Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s CEO Scot Bower said, “It is unfortunate that even as the government of Nigeria demonstrates that it has the resources and ability to assist in ending a coup in neighbouring Benin, it struggles to provide similarly swift intervention and protection to its citizens.
"While CSW welcomes and echoes the call of the National Assembly for the deployment of security to vulnerable roads, we urge the Nigerian authorities to go further still by ensuring the safety of churches in areas experiencing increased attacks as Christmas approaches.
“Government at both the state and federal level must work together to ensure Christians and their communities are protected, particularly in longstanding hotspots such as Benue, Plateau, Taraba and southern Kaduna, and in emerging ones, such as Kogi and Kwara States.”
