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See names of 177 abducted Christian worshippers in Kaduna
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The identities of the 177 persons kidnapped from ECWA Church and Cherubim and Seraphim Churches 1 and 2 at Kurmin Wali community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday have been revealed.
The list paints a harrowing picture of entire families taken away from their homes and places of worship, leaving the community traumatised and virtually empty of able-bodied residents.
The raid came barely a week after the same community paid N2.6 million ransom to secure the release of 20 residents previously abducted, Vanguard reliably gathered.
While government and security operatives denied the incident, a Police situation report obtained by Vanguard confirmed the attack occurred during church services.
The report stated that information was received at about 5:45pm, on Sunday, indicating that the assailants struck around 11:25am, firing sporadically and forcing worshippers to flee into the surrounding forest.
The situation report read: “Message received from DPO Kajuru indicates that on 18/01/2026 at about 1745hrs an information was received that same date at about 1125hrs, unspecified numbers of bandits armed with sophisticated weapons attacked ECWA church and Cherubim Serafim Church 2 at Kurmin Wali in Kajuru lga, The communities are yet to ascertain the number of worshipers kidnapped to unknown destination, the village is situated in a remote forest area, the DPO mobilized other sister security agencies and the military to the scene which cannot be accessed immediately due to bad road, concerted effort in collaboration with all stakeholders has been intensified to rescue the victims and possibly arrest the perpetrators, investigation has commenced”.
As of yesterday, the village was deserted. Those who escaped had fled to nearby communities to stay with relatives and friends.
Some who sustained injuries during the escape were reportedly still in shock, while poor network coverage and lost phones made it difficult to reach them for comment.
Analysis of the 177 victims
Analysis of the 177 names obtained by Vanguard revealed that entire households were abducted. Families such as the Jonathan household had 12 members kidnapped; the Amos family 13; Markus/Makudi 10; Ishaya and Danisa seven each; Bawa six, Danjuma and Musa five each.
Other families saw four, three, or two members taken away. The oldest victim is 71-year-old Augustina Matthew, while the youngest, Salvation Idris, is a child of six.
Other children include Likita Amos, 6; Jumota Idris, 7; Tessy Amos, 8; Yahaya Joshua, 9; and several 10-year-olds, including Sussana Idris, Synthah Amos, Hezibah and Hezikaiah Jonathan.
The denial by government officials has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups. Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria, CSW-N which insisted that the abduction occurred and accused security agents of obstructing independent verification.
CSW-N Research and Press Officer Reuben Buhari said: “Thirty minutes after the incident, as the team was about to enter Kurmin Wali, CSW-N encountered a military convoy, including the chairman of Kajuru Local Government, which was leaving the community.
“They later refused to allow CSW-N team entry, despite repeated pleas and after the team showed full identification.
“The military officer who stopped the CSW-N said there was a standing order not to allow us in. Consequently, our team turned and was escorted to the main road, back to Kaduna.”
CSW-N added that the attackers arrived on motorcycles and on foot, split into three groups, and simultaneously targeted the churches.
“Elderly women and young children were later released, while 11 reportedly escaped, leaving 167 in captivity at the time of the organisation’s engagement with community sources,’’ the group stated.
CAN Chairman speaks
The Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Rev. Dr. Joseph Hayab, accused security agents of enabling the bandits to escape with large number of victims.
He said: “If the security agents had gone after the bandits, they would have prevented them from taking the victims to where they are now hiding. Instead, the security agents only helped the bandits move the victims to a place where they could conceal them and make their demands.
“Had they pursued the attackers immediately, instead of arguing over whether anyone had, indeed, been kidnapped, they would have chased them away, whether they were right or wrong.”
International condemnation pours in
In his reaction, US lawmaker, Rep. Riley Moore, described the abduction as “horrific news” and urged the Nigerian government to ensure swift and safe return of the victims.
He tweeted: “Our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing an existential threat at the hands of the Fulani militants. More must be done to protect them, and I urge the Nigerian government to ensure the swift and safe return of all those who were captured.”
Another unfortunate incident — Peter Obi
Similarly, former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, also raised alarm over the incident, describing it as “unacceptable” and highlighting the recurring pattern of mass abductions across Nigeria.
He said: “I have just been informed that yet again, at the weekend, about 172 worshippers were abducted from churches in Kaduna. This is another unfortunate consequence of a nation where insecurity has been allowed to grow unchecked and unchallenged.
“Even with official denials, we must ask ourselves hard questions, can we continue waking up to news of mass abductions, disputed figures, and denials while citizens live in fear?”
Obi stressed that authorities must act swiftly to rescue the victims and prevent further occurrences, adding that “Nigeria deserves a government that treats human life as sacred. The time to stop this insecurity is now.”
Recall that the state government, state police command and chairman of Kajuru Local Government Area on Monday dismissed reports of mass abduction in the state, challenging those confirming the attack to release the names of those abducted.
Bandits kidnap nursing mother, two others at Kujama before Kajuru’s mass abduction, demand N150m ransom
Prior to the mass abduction, the bandits had earlier on Sunday morning, swooped on Kujama community in Southern Kaduna and took away a nursing mother with her three-month-old baby.
But, they inexplicably left behind the toddler and disappeared with her mother, despite pleas by frightened and grieving neighbours on the bandits to spare the woman because of her baby.
A man in Kujama, whose sister was also taken away with her nine-year-old son, revealed in Abuja yesterday that the kidnappers have demanded the immediate payment of N50 million as a condition to release the three persons they took away that morning.
The man, who gave his name as Anthony Yisa, told Vanguard that the bandits warned that the family of the nursing mother must pay them N50 million as a condition to free her to reunite with her suckling infant or be killed with immediate effect.
Yisa also told our correspondent that the bandits were asking for N100 million ransom for another woman, whose name was given as Alice Bitrus, and her son, David, who they abducted in the Sunday dawn raid in Kujama, a stone’s throw from Kajuru, all in Kaduna State.
Apart from abducting the two mothers and a son, the kidnappers also inflicted serious injuries on the husbands of the women who tried to prevent them from making away with their spouses.
The witness told Vanguard that the knife injuries inflicted on the two men were severe and that none of them might be able to use his hands again due to deep cuts inflicted on them by the attackers.
It was learned that while the kidnappers were asking the relatives of the victims in their custody to urgently make the N150 million ransom payment to them, they also warned them not to report their discussions with them (bandits) to any law enforcement agency or risk being slaughtered.
“We are afraid for the lives of our family members,” Yisa said yesterday amid sobs, wondering where they would get N150 million to pay the kidnappers and free their loved ones.
“This thing happened in the midnight of Saturday, breaking into Sunday in my village of Kujama, a stone’s throw from Kajuru. A woman, Alice Bitrus, was accompanied by her son, David, who was about ten years old.
“But the one that breaks everyone’s heart is the nursing mother whose three-year-old baby was thrown away as they snatched the mother and disappeared into the bush.
“As the husband tried to stop them from breaking into the house, they used a machete to slice his hands into pieces. It is doubtful if the man would recover from the wounds and live.
“The trouble we have is that the kidnappers who are holding on to the three persons, two mothers and a boy, are warning the family not to disclose anything to the security agencies or risk having them killed brutally,” Yisa lamented yesterday.
When contacted on phone, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of Kaduna police command, Mr Mansur Hassan, said he would investigate and revert.
41. Zahaya Joshua
42. Nabilah Makudi
43. Hajara Makudi
44. Rebecca Hosea
45. Ahmad Ahmad
46. Liyu Ezekiel
47. Vivian Ezekiel
48. Goodluck Ezekiel
49. Beauty Ezekiel
50. Matina Maiyashi
51. Bridget Maiyashi
52. Vivian Linus
53. Mary Amos
54. Hamid Amos
55. Patricia Amos
56. Hamisu Amos
57. Luka Amos
58. Tacy Amos
59. Cynthia Amos (guessed)
60. Mercy Isaac
61. Augustine Makudi
62. Matthew Samaila
63. Adam Musa
64. Malika Sule
65. Abu Ahmad
66. Hussein Lucky (guessed)
67. Akinyi Sadiu
68. Dangata Amos
69. Helen Jonathan
70. Asinwa Jonathan
71. Faith Joseph
72. Gloria Kennet
73. Happiness Danisa
74. Fidelis Jacob
75. Tobias Markus
76. Istu Paul
77. Hassana Paul
78. Charity Chindo
79. Christiana Danisa
80. Everest Danima
81. Thomas Philip
82. Catrina Danbosi
83. Halima Hassan
84. Hassan Lukumi
85. Mary Sadiu
86. Franca John
87. Henry Danbiyi
88. Genesis Lawal
89. Ayuba Lawal
90. Solomon Ayuba
91. Theophilus Danlami (guessed)
92. Charles Sambo
93. Rahila Charles
94. Gambo Danisa
95. Talent Danisa
96. Nehemiah Danjuma
97. Maijima Shekarau
98. Matina Maijima
99. Laraba Maijima
100. Musa Danjuma
101. Ishaya Danima
102. Lulu Danisa
103. Clement Ahmad
104. Destiny Ahmad
105. Nehemiah Ishaya
106. Simon Ishaya
107. Nasty Muku
108. Helena Joseph
109. Joseph Bawa
110. Sarah Joseph
111. Bulus Mariya
112. Musa Samaila
113. Bulus Bawa
114. Halima Bawa
115. Beture Hosea
116. Sati Hosea
117. Titus John
118. Dogara Bawa
119. Lories Bawa
120. Adamu Aminu
121. Ezekiel Adamu
122. Tenah Markus
123. Tina Danbosi
124. Patricio Bawa
125. Janet Tsuda
126. Amina Danjuma
127. Sandra Danbosi
128. Bridget Sunday
129. Saphat Innocent (guessed)
130. Alex Sunday
131. Beauty Peter
132. Samisa Paul
133. Joy Joseph
134. Methole Johanna
135. Genesis Johanna
136. Maria Johanna
137. Merozdu Adonu
138. Karimi Jangbe
139. Sunday Martela
140. Santina Hershinga
141. Keuna Michael
142. Hassan Bulus
143. Marzeta Maisoni
144. Mainwa Dominic
145. Godwin Karimi
146. Amos Akijo
147. Nathan Amos
148. Joseph Chindo
149. Lydia Godwin
150. Hamna Maiyangi
151. Toletu Maiyangi
152. Esther Godday
153. Godswill Godday
154. Godlive Samson
155. Goodluck Aliga
156. Madaki Tabawa
157. Tabawa Abba
158. Tabawa Iyamye
159. Samuel Amos
160. Daniel Amos
161. Deborah Amos
162. Ruth Amos
163. Emmanuel Danjuma
164. Joshua Danjuma
165. Rejoice Danisa
166. Blessing Danisa
167. Ibrahim Lawal
168. Zainab Lawal
169. Sadiq Ahmad
170. Aisha Ahmad
171. Yakubu Musa
172. Suleiman Musa
173. Rahama Musa
174. Daniel Jonathan
175. Samuel Jonathan
176. Peter Jonathan
177. Grace Jonathan
(Vanguard, but headline rejigged)
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President of Nigeria, on Friday commended recent report by the United States Department of State highlighting concerns over fiscal transparency in Nigeria, with specific reference to the federal government’s failure to disclose revenues and expenditures.
Stating that it vindicated his position for consistently calling out President Bola for its failure to uphold the basic standards of fiscal transparency, accountability, and disclosure required in a modern democracy.
The US report, had stated that: “The government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report widely and easily accessible to the public, including online, but did not publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period.
“…Budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of the government’s revenues and expenditures, or break down expenditures to support executive offices in the budget.”
Atiku, who said the report aligned with his concerns quoted the part, where it said: “Actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget.”
The report also carpeted the Office of the Auditor-General, for did not meeting international standards of independence and did not publish substantive reports, adding that the Tinubu-led government did not meet the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency during the period under review.
Citing the failure to provide timely, detailed, and publicly accessible information on government revenues and expenditures, as well as the absence of credible audit trails, the former VP, said the observation was on all fours with his position over the years that Nigerians were being kept in the dark about how public resources are generated and spent.
Maintain that without full disclosure of how public funds were earned and spent, Nigeria could not attract investment, fight corruption, or build public trust, Atiku, added: “Transparency is not a slogan. It is the foundation of good governance.
This report confirms what we have been saying that Nigerians deserve to know where every kobo is coming from and where it is being spent. They are our resources and not the resources of President Bola Tinubu and his family and friends.”
While stressing the importance of fiscal transparency as a key benchmark for investors, donor agencies, and credit rating firms, he argued that since the Nigerian economy also relied heavily on foreign investment and multilateral support to fund infrastructure and social programmes, publishing detailed, timely data on revenue from oil, taxes, and borrowing, and on how that money was spent, remained critical to restoring confidence amid rising debt and inflation.
There is a heavy security presence at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office along the Gbongan-Ibadan Road in Osogbo, Osun State, as final preparations intensify for Saturday’s governorship election.
Our correspondent observed a large number of security personnel, including officers of the Nigeria Police Force, stationed within and around the INEC premises on Friday.
The deployment is part of the security arrangements being put in place ahead of the movement of election personnel and materials to the state’s 30 local government areas.
Election stakeholders, including civil society organisations, journalists and accredited observers, were also seen at the INEC office as preparations for the poll reached a critical stage.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Oluwatoyin Babalola, was also said to be holding meetings with National Commissioners and supporting Resident Electoral Commissioners from other states as final arrangements for the election were being concluded.
The governorship election is scheduled to hold across 3,763 polling units in 332 wards spread across the 30 local government areas of the state.
Meanwhile, INEC had on Thursday disclosed that 1,906,390 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), representing 81.50 per cent of the 2,339,233 registered voters in the state, had been collected ahead of the election.
INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this in a statement.
According to him, 426,842 PVCs, representing 18.50 per cent of the total registered voters, remained uncollected and had been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with the commission’s established practice.
The commission also disclosed that some registered voters whose PVCs were damaged, defaced or lost had applied for replacement.
It said 6,101 applicants had printed downloadable copies of their replacement PVCs.
The heightened security presence at the INEC office comes amid increased preparations by security agencies and other stakeholders to ensure a peaceful and credible governorship election in the state.
The Nigeria Police Force has deployed no fewer than 30 Commissioners of Police and more than 15,000 personnel to provide security for Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
The Force also disclosed that a Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) would coordinate the overall security operations for the election, while helicopters and drones would be deployed for aerial and area surveillance before, during and immediately after the poll.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this while briefing journalists on Friday in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on the police preparations for the election.
Iniedu said the police commenced the deployment of personnel and other security resources three weeks before the election, adding that the measures were designed to ensure adequate security across the state’s 30 local government areas.
According to him, more than 15,000 police operatives would be deployed for election duties, while a police helicopter and drone unit had already arrived in Osogbo to support surveillance operations.
He further disclosed that two units of the Police Mobile Force (PMF), each comprising more than 60 personnel, had been deployed to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osogbo.
Similarly, he said each of the 30 local government areas would have a PMF unit to reinforce security during the election.
“We have deployed armed mobile policemen to every local government area in the state. So, we have 30 units across 30 local government areas. A unit is about 60 policemen.
“We also have two units of armed mobile policemen attached to the Independent National Electoral Commission headquarters in Osogbo here. The men who stay at the local government areas are being coordinated by a Commissioner of Police. There is a Commissioner of Police in each Local Government Area.
“We also have a Deputy Commissioner of Police in each Local Government Area, as well as a Mobile Police Commander and a PMF commander with the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police in each Local Government Area.
“As of Thursday, our helicopters and drone units have arrived in Osogbo, and they will be conducting area surveillance from now, during and immediately after the elections.”
The Force PRO also disclosed that the Army would cordon off border routes leading into Osun State from midnight on Saturday as part of measures to restrict movement during the election.
“We will be locking down the state. We will not be allowing any vehicular movement apart from those on essential duty, security duties and those going to cast their franchise,” he said.
Iniedu urged parents to caution their children and wards against engaging in electoral offences, warning that security agencies would deal with anyone found violating the law.
He specifically identified intimidation, stalking, vote-buying and ballot-box snatching as offences that would attract legal consequences.
He also disclosed that a mobile court would be available to handle cases involving persons arrested for alleged electoral offences.
On firearms recovered from suspected hoodlums in the state, Iniedu said the police were yet to collate the specific details of the weapons but disclosed that about 34 illegal firearms had so far been recovered.
“We don’t have specific details about the guns we have mopped up, but I know that in Osun State, so far, we have mopped up about 34 illegal firearms, and investigations are ongoing,” he said.
Atiku hails US report on Tinubu’s fiscal policy, says ‘I’m vindicated “
Osun Guber: Heavy Security Presence at INEC Office Ahead of Saturday’s Poll
Osun Election: Police Deploy 30 CPs, 15,000 Personnel as DIG Takes Charge of Security
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