The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State held a special prayer session on Sunday for the safe return of 177 worshippers abducted from churches in Kurmin Wali community a week earlier.
The event, hosted at Tawaliu Baptist Church in Maraban Kajuru, brought together Christian leaders from across Kaduna State and the northern region, as families of the abducted continued to await news of their loved ones.
The victims, members of the Evangelical Church Winning All and the Cherubim and Seraphim churches, were seized during Sunday services when armed men invaded the community and forced congregants into nearby forests. While a few worshippers managed to escape, the majority remained in captivity.
Speaking at the gathering, Reverend Joseph John Hayab, Chairman of CAN in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory, urged churches to strengthen security measures around places of worship.
“Prayer must be combined with vigilance,” Reverend Hayab said, stressing the need for basic internal security and monitoring arrangements to observe activities within and around church premises during services. He warned that unrestricted access to church grounds without situational awareness exposes worshippers to danger.
Describing the security situation in Kajuru as deeply troubling, Reverend Hayab called the repeated attacks on communities and churches unacceptable, urging urgent collective action to protect worshippers and restore safety.
“We have been praying and watching instead of watching and praying. The church must wake up,” he said, warning that faith must be accompanied by responsibility and preparedness.
In his remarks, the Chairman of CAN in Kajuru Local Government Area, Reverend Enoch Kaura, said the prayer session was convened to seek God’s intervention for the safe return of the abducted worshippers and to pray for wisdom for government authorities and security agencies.
Reverend Kaura condemned the abduction and criticised what he described as the initial denial of the incident by government authorities, saying it cast doubt on the accounts of victims, families, clergy, and eyewitnesses.
He traced the roots of insecurity in Kajuru to the 1980s, noting that violence escalated in 2017 and 2018 during the Kasuwan Magani crisis, which culminated in the abduction and killing of the area’s paramount ruler.
According to him, the Kurmin Wali abduction was not an isolated incident, recalling previous attacks on Buda Church where a pastor and some members were abducted, as well as the killing of a church member in Ugakala Maro last year.
He added that since 2019, no fewer than eleven pastors and their wives had been killed, while several others were abducted, forcing many communities to abandon their homes.
While acknowledging that the administration of Governor Uba Sani had recorded relative peace in parts of Kajuru, Reverend Kaura said lingering insecurity continued to prevent residents from fully returning to normal life, including harvesting their farm produce.
He called on the government and security agencies to intensify operations in Kajuru and other vulnerable areas to prevent further attacks and ensure the rescue of all abducted worshippers.
The prayer session was attended by the Kaduna State Chairman of CAN, Reverend Caleb Bawa Ma’aji, as well as bishops and clergy from various denominations.
