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Nigerian officials admitted that three churches were attacked on Sunday after seeming to deny the attacks earlier this week. The earlier remarks were intended to prevent panic and were misinterpreted, police have since claimed. At no point did the police ever say there was no attack, a spokesperson told Channels Television, a Nigerian news outlet. Police on Wednesday said that after the initial report of violence, they confirmed that the churches were attacked and took steps to locate and rescue the individuals.
At an initial press conference, the Kaduna Commissioner of Police warned people to stop giving out false information that discredited state security agencies. Kaduna Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Sule Shuaibu called the kidnappings a false narrative based on no evidence. The rumor was likely spread by people unhappy with the region’s relative peace, according to Chairman of Kajuru Local Government Area Dauda Madaki.
What do we know? During Sunday morning worship, armed attackers raided three Nigerian churches in the country’s north-central region and kidnapped 177 people, according to Open Doors, an international Christian ministry.
Yunana Adauj told Open Doors that he managed to escape the attacks. He said that the terrorists threatened worshippers at gunpoint, including some who were recovering from surgery. Another escapee claimed that the captives were forced to hike without food or water and that they were flogged if they failed to keep up.
Some elderly women and young children have since been released, but more than 160 people remain in captivity, according to Open Doors. Locals believe they are being held for ransom.
Dig deeper: Listen to this report from Myrna Brown on The World and Everything in It about the Nigerian reaction to a U.S.-backed strike on the Islamic State group.
