By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ABUJA (Worthy News) - Christians in northern Nigeria were searching Tuesday for scores of believers reportedly abducted in a Christmas Day attack by Islamic fighters that killed at least one person.
Witnesses said Fulani herdsmen and other “terrorists” attacked Angwan Aku village in the
Kajuru Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Kaduna State as a church service was to begin.
Christians recalled that the attackers arrived riding motorbikes and shooting. “They killed one Christian and kidnapped 53 other Christians still being held captive,” said area resident James Akawu in remarks to Christian news agency Morning Star News.
It was not immediately clear what demands had been made for their release.
The Christmas Day attack came after residents in Kaduna State’s Kaura County said Islamic Fulani herdsmen and “other terrorists” killed 40 Christians in Mallagum on December 18.
Another three Christians were murdered in Kagoro on December 23, Christian sources said.
The December 18-23 attacks in predominantly Christian areas of Nigeria’s Kaduna state, where some 100 homes were destroyed, and other violence underscored broader concerns about anti-Christian attacks.
Thousands of believers were killed last year and in previous years by Islamic fighters, according to authorities and rights groups.
The attacks and kidnappings often happen in areas where Islamic fighters seek to carve out territory to impose shariah, or Islamic law, or where criminal gangs are active.