Armed hoodlum kidnap busload of RCCG worshippers on their way to church in Kaduna State

ARMED hoodlums have abducted a busload of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) worshippers on their way to church on Kaduna State in the latest case of kidnapping across northern Nigeria.

Of late, kidnapping for ransom has become big business in Nigeria, with armed groups resorting to raiding boarding schools, patrolling motorways and targeting affluent members of  communities and their family members. In the latest incident, a group of bandits ambushed a busload of worshippers on their way to Kafanchan in Kaduna State over the weekend.

Apparently, the passengers were kidnapped along Kachia Road, some 63 kilometres from Kaduna as they were heading to a church function. Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, the RGGC's head of media and public relations, confirmed the incident, although he has not given details about whether the kidnappers have made ransom demands yet.

Reverend John Hayab, the chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said that the RCCG members were taken away near Doka along the Kachia-Kafanchan highway on Friday evening. He added that he got the information when an unknown number called him pointing out that more than eight worshippers were abducted by the gunmen.

Over the past four years, Christians in Kaduna State have suffered a lot as the state has been a hotbed of division and religious strife. In Kaduna metropolis, many parts of the city remain segregated and in the south of the state, Christian communities have borne the brunt of brutal attacks by heavily-armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen.