The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly condemned the brazen abduction of 163 Christian worshippers during Sunday church services in Kurmin Wali, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, describing it as a tragic manifestation of deepening insecurity under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The incident occurred on Sunday when armed bandits stormed multiple churches, including those of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Cherubim and Seraphim, and a Catholic parish, while congregants were in the midst of worship.
According to Reverend John Hayab, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna, gunmen initially abducted 172 people, but nine managed to escape shortly after, leaving 163 still in captivity.
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The attackers reportedly arrived in large numbers and forced victims into nearby forests.
In a press statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP extended heartfelt sympathy to the affected families and offered prayers for the victims’ safe return.
The party described the attack as a “sad reminder of the normalisation of insecurity” and a failure to protect citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of worship.
“The abduction of 163 Nigerians from their places of worship… represent the inability of this government to protect the constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of worship,” the statement read.
“Nigerians must not live in fear when going to churches or mosques to worship.”
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The PDP urged the APC-led Federal Government to launch immediate and comprehensive rescue operations without “dramatizing” the situation, referencing the handling of a previous school kidnapping in Niger State.
It criticized the administration for prioritizing “international image laundering campaigns” over addressing the root causes of banditry and kidnapping.
The party advocated for the urgent establishment of state policing to curb such impunity and called on President Tinubu to focus on tangible security improvements rather than propaganda.
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