BANDITS KILL PASTOR, ABDUCT 20 WORSHIPPERS IN KADUNA COMMUNITY

Armed bandits raided the Farin Dutse community in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State and killed a local pastor, Rev. Yahaya Kambasiya, during a night attack that also left more than 20 residents abducted. Rev. Kambasiya was a minister with the United Church of Christ in Nigeria (HEKAN). According to witnesses, the attackers moved into the village shooting, forcing families out of their homes, and targeting members of the church community. He was shot and killed at the scene. After killing the pastor, the gunmen went house to house and took several people, including women and youths, before escaping with them into nearby bush areas. The President of HEKAN, Rev. Dr. Amos Kiri, condemned the attack and described it as “an attack on a peaceful worship community.” He called the killing of Rev. Kambasiya “painful and unacceptable,” and demanded immediate action from security agencies to rescue the abducted members and stop repeated raids on Christian communities in that part of Kaduna. He also urged authorities at both state and federal level to stop treating these incidents as routine and to treat them as an ongoing emergency affecting worship centres, pastors, and entire families. Residents of the area say this is not the first time armed groups have entered at night, taken hostages, and left without resistance. Locals say they feel abandoned and unprotected, and that kidnappings for ransom have become a way of life in rural Kaduna. As of now, the abducted worshippers are still missing.