NIGERIA’S UNFOLDING SECURITY TRAGEDY: 15 Christian Mothers Abducted as 166 Church Worshippers Remain Unaccounted For!
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NIGERIA’S UNFOLDING SECURITY TRAGEDY: 15 Christian Mothers Abducted as 166 Church Worshippers Remain Unaccounted For!
Reported by Marian opeyemi Fasesan (Editor -in- chief) | Sele Media Africa
Nigeria’s deepening security crisis has once again come under the spotlight following the abduction of 15 married Christian women by Boko Haram insurgents in southern Borno State, alongside the unresolved disappearance of 166 church worshippers in southern Kaduna — incidents that continue to draw troubling silence from authorities.
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF), in a statement released on Monday and signed by its President, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, disclosed that the women were kidnapped on December 18, 2025, from Kilakasa village in Dille District of Askira/Uba Local Government Area while they were fishing near a river. The attackers were identified as Boko Haram terrorists.
According to the forum, the victims are all Christian women of the Marghi ethnic group, aged between 30 and 40. They are mothers with young children, some left in devastating circumstances — including one woman reportedly caring for six children now abandoned to uncertainty.
Families of the abducted women reportedly alerted security agencies promptly and even initiated ransom communications. However, the MBF said all contact with the kidnappers has gone silent, with no visible rescue operation or official update forthcoming.
The forum expressed alarm over what it described as a disturbing lack of media attention and government response, warning that the silence has only deepened fear and despair among Middle Belt communities in Borno State.
This perceived indifference stands in contrast to the swift rescue of 12 girls abducted from a communal farm in Mussa District, Askira Emirate, who were freed within four days by troops of Operation Hadin Kai. The MBF urged security agencies to show the same urgency and resolve in rescuing the Kilakasa women.
Beyond Borno, the forum raised serious concern over the fate of 166 worshippers abducted from three churches in Kurmin Wali village, Kajuru Local Government Area of southern Kaduna. The kidnappings, which occurred roughly two weeks earlier, were initially denied by state authorities, according to the MBF — a denial that has since heightened public anxiety.
Describing the silence of the Kaduna State Government and Police Command as “heartless and unsettling,” the forum said families of the victims have been left in the dark with no official briefings or reassurance.
The MBF also condemned a coordinated bandit attack on Agwara town in Niger State, where armed assailants reportedly overpowered local security, razed a police divisional headquarters, attacked a church, and abducted at least five residents. The incident, the forum said, has plunged the community into fear and psychological trauma.
According to the group, these incidents reflect a widening pattern of violence across the Middle Belt, increasingly directed at churches, police facilities, schools, and civilian populations.
In southern Kaduna alone, the forum cited daily kidnappings and attacks across Kauru, Kachia, Lere, Chikun, and Kagarko local government areas, warning that criminal groups appear to be operating with near-total impunity.
The MBF criticized Kaduna State for lacking a structured, well-trained, and adequately funded civilian security support system, noting thatr neighboring states have made more progress through community-based security collaborations.
It also questioned the credibility of the state’s much-publicized “Kaduna Peace Model,” arguing that the period of its implementation has coincided with mass kidnappings, killings, and displacement. The forum further alleged that some armed Fulani bandits previously pardoned and reintegrated in 2024 may be linked to the current surge in violence.
“These incidents reinforce growing concerns of a targeted campaign against Christian-majority ethnic communities in the Middle Belt,” the MBF stated, describing the situation as a troubling pattern of religiously motivated attacks.
Sele Media Africa Editorial Note
At Sele Media Africa, we find the continued silence surrounding these abductions not just alarming, but unacceptable. When mothers are torn away from their children, worshippers vanish from churches, and communities are left to mourn in isolation, silence becomes complicity.
Security response in Nigeria must not be selective. Every citizen’s life carries equal value, regardless of region, religion, or ethnicity. The disparity in urgency shown by authorities raises urgent questions that must be answered — publicly and transparently.
The Middle Belt is bleeding, and Nigerians deserve more than reassurances. They deserve action.
The MBF has demanded immediate, coordinated rescue efforts, transparent communication on all abducted persons, and concrete protection strategies that uphold Nigerians’ constitutional rights to life and security.
As the forum rightly concluded: the lives of these women — and all abducted Nigerians — matter.
Reference:
https://tngt.news/nigerian-nightmare-boko-haram-seizes-15-christian-mothers-government-ignores-pleas-as-166-churchgoers-remain-missing/
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