₦airaland Forum

ABUJA — 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.

Reactions.

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?”





https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/01/kaduna-names-of-177-abducted-worshippers-revealed/

So this abduction is really true? Shame on the authorities hiding the fact!

Based on the report, here is the list of the 177 individuals identified as abducted from the Kurmin Wali community in Kaduna:
* Augustina Matthew (71)
* Salvation Idris (6)
* Likita Amos (6)
* Jumota Idris (7)
* Tessy Amos (
* Yahaya Joshua (9)
* Sussana Idris (10)
* Synthah Amos (10)
* Hezibah Jonathan (10)
* Hezikaiah Jonathan (10)
* Zahaya Joshua
* Nabilah Makudi
* Hajara Makudi
* Rebecca Hosea
* Ahmad Ahmad
* Liyu Ezekiel
* Vivian Ezekiel
* Goodluck Ezekiel
* Beauty Ezekiel
* Matina Maiyashi
* Bridget Maiyashi
* Vivian Linus
* Mary Amos
* Hamid Amos
* Patricia Amos
* Hamisu Amos
* Luka Amos
* Tacy Amos
* Cynthia Amos
* Mercy Isaac
* Augustine Makudi
* Matthew Samaila
* Adam Musa
* Malika Sule
* Abu Ahmad
* Hussein Lucky
* Akinyi Sadiu
* Dangata Amos
* Helen Jonathan
* Asinwa Jonathan
* Faith Joseph
* Gloria Kennet
* Happiness Danisa
* Fidelis Jacob
* Tobias Markus
* Istu Paul
* Hassana Paul
* Charity Chindo
* Christiana Danisa
* Everest Danima
* Thomas Philip
* Catrina Danbosi
* Halima Hassan
* Hassan Lukumi
* Mary Sadiu
* Franca John
* Henry Danbiyi
* Genesis Lawal
* Ayuba Lawal
* Solomon Ayuba
* Theophilus Danlami
* Charles Sambo
* Rahila Charles
* Gambo Danisa
* Talent Danisa
* Nehemiah Danjuma
* Maijima Shekarau
* Matina Maijima
* Laraba Maijima
* Musa Danjuma
* Ishaya Danima
* Lulu Danisa
* Clement Ahmad
* Destiny Ahmad
* Nehemiah Ishaya
* Simon Ishaya
* Nasty Muku
* Helena Joseph
* Joseph Bawa
* Sarah Joseph
* Bulus Mariya
* Musa Samaila
* Bulus Bawa
* Halima Bawa
* Beture Hosea
* Sati Hosea
* Titus John
* Dogara Bawa
* Lories Bawa
* Adamu Aminu
* Ezekiel Adamu
* Tenah Markus
* Tina Danbosi
* Patricio Bawa
* Janet Tsuda
* Amina Danjuma
* Sandra Danbosi
* Bridget Sunday
* Saphat Innocent
* Alex Sunday
* Beauty Peter
* Samisa Paul
* Joy Joseph
* Methole Johanna
* Genesis Johanna
* Maria Johanna
* Merozdu Adonu
* Karimi Jangbe
* Sunday Martela
* Santina Hershinga
* Keuna Michael
* Hassan Bulus
* Marzeta Maisoni
* Mainwa Dominic
* Godwin Karimi
* Amos Akijo
* Nathan Amos
* Joseph Chindo
* Lydia Godwin
* Hamna Maiyangi
* Toletu Maiyangi
* Esther Godday
* Godswill Godday
* Godlive Samson
* Goodluck Aliga
* Madaki Tabawa
* Tabawa Abba
* Tabawa Iyamye
* Samuel Amos
* Daniel Amos
* Deborah Amos
* Ruth Amos
* Emmanuel Danjuma
* Joshua Danjuma
* Rejoice Danisa
* Blessing Danisa
* Ibrahim Lawal
* Zainab Lawal
* Sadiq Ahmad
* Aisha Ahmad
* Yakubu Musa
* Suleiman Musa
* Rahama Musa
* Daniel Jonathan
* Samuel Jonathan
* Peter Jonathan
* Grace Jonathan
(Note: The report lists these names as the primary identified victims; the remaining names making up the 177 were identified as part of the large family units mentioned, such as the Jonathan, Amos, and Markus households.)
Source Vanguardngr

A very good job from CAN. Publish the list and the let the whole world know of our predicament...Enough is enough

Why this tinubu government so wicked jesus.

When we said the government is engaging in massive news suppression and underreporting security issues in order to win elections, this is what we are talking about. How could they have swung into action when their first reaction was to deny it ever happened? Now they have to deal with the international embarrassment. As far as APC is concerned, it's optics over results.

I thought the police denied.


Well, lies and deceit aren't new in this APC government. We're getting used to them.

HenryThegreat1:
Why this tinubu government so wicked jesus.

Na two things ticket...

This shows the level of wickedness in Tinubu govt. They rather loose citizens to avert critics...evil government

Tinubu should not try to come back to avoid disgrace

I thought those stupid government people said it's a lie. Very difficult when an unidentified person is a leader.

E don be for Nigeria police. Now names are published, they will never lie or deny the news again.


Very pathetic agency...


Know this and have peace, this government from FG to State is evil. They know about this attack but decided to do nothing. Imagine the military not being in pursuit of this criminals but saying that they are on a standing order not to allow anyone pass to the scene.


Very pathetic the state of Nigeria in the hands of these people more devilish than devil himself.

After seeing this madness, anyone who goes to any polling unit to vote any APC government is cursed.

So this is actually true.
Imagine Nigeria Police arguing with CAN yesterday, by debunking the News.

May God help the Christians in the North to Overcome this Insecurity.

nero2face:
ABUJA — 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.

Reactions.

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?”





https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/01/kaduna-names-of-177-abducted-worshippers-revealed/

So it is real?? Curse be upon the Nigerian government for continuous play on people's life.
For how long will this continue to happen.
Break this country now. Referendum needed ASAP or better still a complete revolution and revamping or our political structure

Looks like the government goofed here, literally.

I mean, it is kind of painful to see government representatives essentially saying 'nothing happened' when it is obvious that something did happen, and nothing is being done about it.

I expect them to come and blame the oppositon, not their own failings.

This is where Agbadorians hide after trying to suppress the news.

AMINDA:
When we said the government is engaging in massive news suppression and underreporting security issues in order to win elections, this is what we are talking about. How could they have swung into action when their first reaction was to deny it ever happened? Now they have to deal with the international embarrassment. As far as APC is concerned, it's optics over results.

Very disturbing, watch the videos on Al Jazeera. Reuters and DW have picked it up. This is the second time Governor Sani Uba is suppressing and denying criminal activities.
The annoying thing is the commissioner of police putting himself in the mess.

Elusive001:
After seeing this madness, anyone who goes to any polling unit to vote any APC government is cursed.

The problem with your comment is come elextion time, you will tell us to vote for Atiku (who kept quiet when dapchi happened among other issues when he was still in apc ) and obi (who was part of PDP when the chibok thing happened, and who kept quiet then, and whose supporters literally did what APC supporters are doing now, and gaslit nigerians literally.)

When we suggest you should vote for the totally new parties/smaller parties, you guys will start shouting that a vote for them is a vote for tinubu

Until you people are serious about change, and that means voting out tinubu, obi and atiku, plus anyone linked with buhari, obasanjo and company, and vote in parties that are not part of the pdpapclp ecosystem, there will be no change whatsoever.

But since you guys will just say I am supporting tinubu, vote for the current oppostion. The only hope we have is that if they mess up, we can vote them out. And so on until they see we the people mean business.

But I am yet to see a plan from the government or opposition on improving funding, training and efficency for our law enforcement, and also curing the root causes of this security crisis. We got to vote out APC, it's just too bad that for most of you the alternative is just more of THE same.

Weren't we all here when the APC zoo police came out to debunk this news on the day it was broken?

APC has infected every single organisation and institution in this once blessed nation

Gotocourt:
Very disturbing, watch the videos on Al Jazeera. Reuters and DW have picked it up. This is the second time Governor Sani Uba is suppressing and denying criminal activities.
The annoying thing is the commissioner of police putting himself in the mess.

That man only cares about PR and propaganda. The reality on ground is very different. To him, if it doesn't get reported, then it never happened. It's very sad to see.

obi4eze:
I thought the police denied.


Well, lies and deceit aren't new in this APC government. We're getting used to them.

Police Force headquarters have no choice than to accept it.

Don't worry, Nnamdi Kanu is the problem and Donald Trump is wrong

Yes a screwdriver seller from Aba ngwa, is telling big lies, nnamdi kanu is the problem.

One Nijeriya has done it again!

The irresistible urge of the govt to look good by attempting to suppress or denying criminal activities of their jihadists brothers is nauseating.The lied that Christian Persecution and genocide does not exist. Now they think they can deny for life?

See as the thread is dry as the regular deadbeat zombies defenders of this useless failed government are nowhere to be found.

"......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.

“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....... "

Racoon:
The irresistible urge of the govt to look good by attempting to suppress or denying criminal activities of their jihadists brothers is nauseating.The lies that Christian Persecution and genocide does not exist. Now they think they can deny for life?

See as the thread is dry as the regular deadbeat zombies defenders of this useless failed government are nowhere to be found.

I also wonder what the Mods are doing. From the news about the kidnap to the denials and then the rebuttals and final admittance. None of the threads have graced frontpage.

stainzville:
A very good job from CAN. Publish the list and the let the whole world know of our predicament...Enough is enough

This is very surprising, this event purportedly happened on Sunday, so how did they get the names of the church goers so swift?

Please the USA needs to continue the military intervention. This time around, without the help of Nigerians intelligence. My heart is with those innocent people kidnapped by those subhuman beings.

Racoon:
The irresistible urge of the govt to look good by attempting to suppress or denying criminal activities of their jihadists brothers is nauseating.The lies that Christian Persecution and genocide does not exist. Now they think they can deny for life?

See as the thread is dry as the regular deadbeat zombies defenders of this useless failed government are nowhere to be found.

I am beginning to suspect this CAN?

We know how Tinubu’s purported bishop saga pained them.