Dozens of worshippers kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state have returned home several weeks after their abduction, police have confirmed.
The worshippers were part of a group of 177 people seized last month during coordinated attacks on three churches in the remote village of Kurmin Wali.
According to the Kaduna State Police Command, about 80 of the abducted victims managed to escape on the same day they were taken.
However, they remained in hiding in neighbouring villages for nearly two weeks out of fear of being recaptured.
State police spokesman Mansur Hassan told the BBC that the returnees only felt safe enough to go back home after security conditions in the area improved.
Meanwhile, authorities say efforts are still underway to secure the release of the remaining 86 worshippers who are believed to be in captivity.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which forms part of a wider surge in kidnappings for ransom across several parts of Nigeria.
The incident initially sparked controversy after police first denied reports of the abductions.
The kidnappings were only officially confirmed on January 21, following accounts from local residents who told the BBC that 177 worshippers had been taken, with some escaping shortly after the raid.
The police response drew sharp criticism from Amnesty International, which accused Nigerian authorities of being in “desperate denial” over the scale of the security crisis.
The human rights organisation urged the government to take “immediate and concrete measures” to curb what it described as rampant abductions that are increasingly becoming commonplace across the country.
Source: BBC News
