- Safiu Kehinde
Residents of Kurmin Wali community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have compiled and released the names of 177 worshippers abducted during multiple attacks on three churches in the community by suspected bandits.
The bandits were on Sunday reported to have raided a branch of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), and two Cherubim and Seraphim Churches.
However, the Kaduna State Police Command would initially deny the abduction report in a joint statement issued alongside officials of the affected local government.
In reaction, the residents of the community would on Tuesday release the 177 names of abducted worshippers.
As seen in a post shared on X, some of the victims include Genesis Lawal, Ayuba Adaubi, Solom Ayuba, Thankgod Danmori, Gambo Dauda, Ishaya Damina, Sarah Joseph, and Saffi Hosea.
Some others include Adamu Musa, Abu Ahmad, Helen Jonathan, Gloria Kenneth, Hassan Paul, Isty Paul, Tobias Markus, Happiness Dauda, Fidelis Jacob, and Charity Chindo.
NPO Reported that the Nigerian Police Force had since confirmed the occurrence of the incident.
The Force in a statement issued on Tuesday however defended the state commissioner’s initial denial of the reported abduction.
Hundeyin held that comment by Rabiu over the alleged abduction of some Church worshippers in the state was not a denial of the incident.
The Police spokesperson said upon receiving the report of the incident, the Kaduna State Security Council was immediately convened by Gov. Uba Sani.
He said some individuals from the affected local government area disputed the report earlier confirmed by the police and described it as false.
“This created uncertainty and reinforced the need for caution and thorough verification by the police and other security agencies before making conclusive public statements on such a sensitive matter.
“In this context, comments made by the CP during a media interaction were intended to prevent unnecessary panic while facts were being confirmed.
“Those remarks, which have since been widely misinterpreted, were not a denial of the incident but a measured response pending confirmation of details from the field, including the identities and number of those affected,” he said.
Hundeyin revealed that subsequent verification from operational units and intelligence sources had confirmed that the incident was not false.