Bandits have raided churches in Kurmin Wali community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, abducting over 170 worshippers.

According to witnesses, the attackers struck during church services on Sunday.

ECWA and Cherubim and Seraphim churches were affected by the attack.

Sources said nine vulnerable persons among the victims later returned home.

Rev. Joseph John Hayab, the Northern CAN Chairman, confirmed the attack to Daily Trust, describing the incident as sad.

He said, “I don’t like talking about the figures but I got from the area is 172 were said to have been abducted and 9 managed to escape, with the remaining 163 people still with the abductors,” he said.

“It’s a very tough and sad thing but we will not give up. The security agencies and the government are making effort towards restoration of peace in Kaduna and we are happy with it.

“Whatever is the reason, we are not going to give up. We want to work with the security agencies and the government to ensure that these people return safely. We know the efforts that have been put in place by security and the government to ensure that there’s restoration of peace, so we cannot be accusing people.

”If they ( bandits) are doing it to provoke anger, they will be surprised. We’ll get our people back just as others have been coming back these days. These people will come back,” he said.

As at the time of filing this report, the Kaduna State Government and the Police have not issued any official statements on the incident.