KADUNA, Nigeria: Nigerian police denied reports of simultaneous church attacks in northwestern Kaduna state over the weekend, even as residents shared accounts of kidnappings at the churches in interviews Tuesday.
A state lawmaker, Usman Danlami Stingo, told The Associated Press on Monday that 177 people were abducted by an armed group Sunday. Eleven escaped and 168 are still missing, according to the lawmaker and residents interviewed by AP.
Kaduna State Police Commissioner Muhammad Rabiu described news reports of the attacks as rumors, saying the police visited one of the three churches in the district of Kajuru and “there was no evidence of the attack.”
It is common for police and locals to have contradicting accounts of attacks in Nigeria’s hard-hit villages.
“I am one of the people who escaped from the bandits. We all saw it happen, and anyone who says it didn’t happen is lying,” said Ishaku Dan’azumi, the village head of Kurmin Wali.
