No fewer than 163 worshippers have been reportedly kidnapped after a gang of bandits attacked several churches in the Kurmin Wali area of Kajuru Local Government, Kaduna State, on Sunday.

Multiple reports indicated that the kidnappers stormed the churches and started to take worshippers forcibly.

Confirming the development to journalists on Monday, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the northern region, John Hayab, said 172 worshippers were kidnapped, noting that nine later escaped.

He added that 163 of the worshippers were currently in captivity.

“Information came to me from the elders of the churches that one hundred and seventy‑two worshippers were abducted while nine escaped,” Mr Hayab said.

Kaduna police spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, did not reply to repeated phone calls and WhatsApp messages on Monday.

Meanwhile, Kaduna police commissioner, Muhammad Rabiu, dismissed the kidnapping as untrue, describing the reports as fabrications by people bent on disrupting peace in the state.

“The story is a mere falsehood. Anyone who claims people were kidnapped should come forward with names and particulars,” Mr Rabiu told journalists after the state security council meeting on Monday.

The latest church attacks occurred weeks after the United States military carried out a series of air strikes against terrorist targets in Sokoto over allegations of Christian persecution in the country.