By Frank Ulom
KADUNA (CONVERSEER) – Nigerians have expressed disappointment in the Nigeria Police for openly denying the abduction of over 170 Christians in Kaduna State without carrying out any investigation.
Converseer reports that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had raised an alarm over the abduction of over 170 worshippers in three churches in Kurmin Wali, a remote community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to Rev. Joseph John Hayab, CAN Chairman in the 19 Northern states, the kidnappers stormed the churches including ECWA and Cherubim and Seraphim, on Sunday, 18th January 2026, and abducted the worshippers without restraint.
Rev. Hayab, who described it as sad, said: “I don’t like talking about the figures but what I got from the area is that 172 were said to have been abducted and nine managed to escape, with the remaining 163 people still with the abductors.”
The Kaduna State Police Command and the Chairman of Kajuru Local Government blatantly disputed the claims, insisting that no such incident occurred, without conducting any investigation.
“The story is a mere falsehood. Anyone who claims people were kidnapped should come forward with names and particulars,” the Kaduna State Police Commissioner, CP Muhammad Rabiu told journalists, warning that purveyors of rumours will face the full wrath of the law. Will he face the wrath now?
The Chairman of Kajuru Local Government, Dauda Madaki, blatantly said, “When I heard the rumour, I mobilised the police and other security forces to Kurmin Wali. We visited the church where the so-called kidnapping was said to have occurred and found no trace of any incident.”
Other top government officials also denied the abduction in what Nigerians believe is a cover-up of the Christian genocide in northern Nigeria.
Swallowing its vomit, the Nigeria Police, in a statement on Tuesday, 20th January 2026, confirmed that the incident occurred, following verification from operational units and intelligence sources.
The statement signed by CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, said, “Subsequent verification from operational units and intelligence sources has confirmed that the incident did occur. The Nigeria Police Force, therefore, activated coordinated security operations, working closely with other security agencies, with a clear focus on locating and safely rescuing the victims and restoring calm to the area.”
The statement added that, “In this context, comments made by the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command, during a media interaction were intended to prevent unnecessary panic while facts were being confirmed. Those remarks, which have since been widely misinterpreted, were not a denial of the incident but a measured response pending confirmation of details from the field, including the identities and number of those affected.”
It further stated that, “The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has directed the full deployment of critical operational and intelligence assets to Kajuru and surrounding communities. These efforts include deployment of tactical units as well as intensified patrols already in place, targeted search-and-rescue operations, and proactive measures to protect lives and property.”
ALSO READ: Weather update for 21st January 2026 across Nigeria
Reacting to the police statement, Nigerians on social media felt security agencies and government officials are toying with their lives if a very sensitive matter like this could be treated with kid gloves.
“Our wonderful Nigeria Police are accepting that 177 Christians were kidnapped by terrorists only 24 hours after. Don’t you see that the Nigerian government is working very hard and swiftly to keep Christians safe?” @OddCruise replies to the Nigeria Police (@PoliceNG).
@Xpectator1 said, “You owe the public an apology for misleading them and attempting a cover-up, an action that borders on complicity. Rather than stating that investigations were ongoing, you chose to deny the issue outright. This is a clear display of inefficiency and a loss of credibility.”
You owe the public an apology for misleading them and attempting a cover-up, an action that borders on complicity. Rather than stating that investigations were ongoing, you chose to deny the issue outright. This is a clear display of inefficiency and a loss of credibility.
— Spectator (@xpectator1) January 21, 2026
“Bro they are trying to downplay the Christian genocide narrative, but it’s not going well… because it’s the happening, the Genocide,” @realelitetips
“The public demands a full apology for trying to cover up the abduction and calling those who cry out for help “liars and fake news peddlers” There is no need for anyone to lie that they are being attacked. This is unfortunate and sad,” @salakwa1
The public demand a full apology for trying to cover up the abduction and calling those who cry out for help as "liars and fake news peddlers" there is no need for anyone to lie that they are being attacked. This is unfortunate and sad.
— Manasseh Allen (@salakwa1) January 21, 2026
@AbrahamIdokoko said, “..some individuals from the affected local government area disputed the report..” & your CP enabled them. Has @PoliceNG arrested these criminals who are members of the Kaduna state security council for perjury? If such terrorism enablers are free, then you are all jokers.”
@Ezeluchie wrote, “Nonsensical. Over 150 Christians were kidnapped, and the @PoliceNG tried to create confusion as to whether the crime ever occurred? This is more proof of the need to create LGA & State Police- the Police Hq in Abuja is incapable of functioning effectively: policing is local.”
@gelep21 wrote, “If the NPF, which through its intelligence should have information on security threats before they occur, was waiting for villagers to confirm a case of kidnapping of over 150 persons, then they’re a joke! To think that those who cried out were termed liars? Nigerians deserve more!”
@Pearlywhitegem wrote, “Why must you play politics with security? This is a very bad optics for the image of this country if the people and the outside world can no longer trust their security agencies. Nigeria is gone abeg.”
@ras_ogbu wrote: “Calling people who put out information on the mass abduction ‘conflict entrepreneurs’ and challenging them to produce names and identities of the victims cannot by the widest stretch of the imagination be described as ‘a measured response’ from the Kaduna State C of P.”
@MooreEhis wrote: “You discredited an alarm without first doing your due diligence? That was even the second 3rd mishap. The 2nd was your men not responding to SOS calls during the attack. The 1st was the attack which was never meant to be taking place if yall re really up and about your jobs…”
@lamidex2 wrote: “With due respect, this response exposes a level of sloppiness and institutional hesitation that should have no place in matters of human life and public safety. An incident of this magnitude cannot simply evaporate into uncertainty. It is glaring when it happens, visceral in its impact, and impossible for affected communities to mistake. The repeated back-and-forth, the oscillation between confirmation and denial, and the prolonged delay in clarity are not signs of caution, they are symptoms of systemic lethargy, and frankly, they are nauseating.
“In a nation already bruised by insecurity, the public expects decisiveness, professionalism, and speed from the Nigeria Police Force, not confusion. Communication gaps of this nature do not calm nerves, they inflame distrust and deepen fear.
“Security agencies exist to lead in moments of crisis, not trail behind public outrage and eyewitness realities. Lives are not abstractions to be verified at leisure. Communities in distress deserve prompt acknowledgement, coherent action, and credible communication, nothing less.
Quite simply, this should not be happening. The public deserves better. Do better please!”
Also, Amnesty International has released a statement, demanding, “The Nigerian authorities must ensure that all the 166 people abducted from three churches at Kurmin Wali village of Kajuru local area council, Kaduna, northern Nigeria are safely and securely rescued and reunited with their families. Those abducted include minors and pregnant women.”
