Kaduna state police commissioner, Alhaji Muhammad Rabiu, described the reports as “mere falsehood which is being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs who want to cause chaos.”

The initial reports alleged that over 100 people were kidnapped in coordinated attacks on three churches in Kurmin Wali and the Kajuru Local Government Area. Victims were said to include women and children, who were reportedly taken to an unknown location.

Rev. John Joseph Hayab, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states, confirmed the incident to local publication Vanguard . He said some people managed to escape while many others were still missing.

Similarly, a community leader from Kurmin Wali, Ishaku Dan'azumi Sarkin, also told the BBC that 177 people were kidnapped from three churches. He noted that 11 escaped, several were injured, and no deaths were recorded.

However, police commissioner Rabiu challenged the validity of the reports, saying, “Anyone [should] list the names of the kidnapped victims and other particulars.”

Dauda Madaki, chairman of Kajuru local government area, said security forces were sent to the area after the reports surfaced, but found no evidence of an attack. “I asked the village head, Mai Dan Zaria, and he said that there was no such attack,” Madaki said.

Police also referenced comments from the state’s commissioner for internal security and home affairs, who said religious leaders visited the area. “They found out that what was pushed out to the public sphere was completely false,” he reportedly said.

Mass kidnappings are not new to northern Nigeria. In November 2025, coordinated abductions led to the closure of several schools. During that month, over 300 students and 38 church members were kidnapped between the 17th and 23rd.

Amid the November abductions, Nigerian officials linked the rise in kidnappings to the United States threatening military action over alleged “mass killing of Christians”, saying it may have provoked retaliation from armed groups.

On Christmas Day, the U.S. carried out airstrikes on two Islamist militant camps in north-western Nigeria. Earlier in the month, U.S. President Donald Trump warned of more strikes if attacks on Christians continued.

“The Federal Ministry of Education assures parents, guardians, and the general public that the safety, welfare, and well-being of students remain a top priority,” the ministry stated. It also emphasised that the federal government remains committed to protecting the rights of every Nigerian child to access education in a secure environment.

Although the statement did not specify the exact date when the schools resumed operations, it noted that many students are now concluding their December academic programmes, while others have completed their examinations.

The ministry reiterated that it continues to collaborate with relevant security agencies to ensure sustained stability in school environments across the nation.

The closures were prompted by a series of coordinated abductions between 17 and 23 November. During this period, armed groups kidnapped over 300 students and 38 church congregants in northern Nigeria. 

Among the incidents, at least 25 schoolgirls were taken from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, northwestern Nigeria, with one girl reported to have escaped from the abductors.

Subsequently, more than 100 pupils and teachers were abducted from St Mary's School in north-central Nigeria’s Niger State.

In response, several neighbouring states temporarily shut down schools within their territories. The federal government later secured the release of 100 abducted individuals on 7 December. However, some pupils remain in captivity.

The resurgence of mass school abductions—more than a year after the previous major incident in March 2024 —has been attributed to various factors. 

Authorities link the renewed attacks to a recent statement from the United States threatening military action over alleged “mass killing of Christians”, which the government says may have triggered retaliation from armed groups.

Many of the provinces carry names rooted in Indigenous languages such as Quechua, Mapuche, and Guaraní. Others have Spanish colonial or religious origins.

For example:

Even more interesting translations, such as “Very Pronounced Point Between Two Rivers” (Chaco) or “Prickly Plant Fruit” (Tucumán), come from Indigenous terms describing local landscapes, flora, or cultural practices.

Security guard Abdul-Hamid Idris described the moment the gunmen arrived. “We all thought the footsteps we heard were from cows, until our sister peeped outside and saw that it was actually a large group of children,” he said. “We could clearly see them being beaten whenever they tried to sit or run.”

Parents say the mass abduction has devastated a community already grappling with insecurity. Many fear the attack will end their children ’s education altogether.“Taking a child to the city is not easy… it would be the end of the education for some children,” one parent said, adding, “Most of the parents are not likely to take their children again back to that school.”

The incident is being described as one of the worst school abductions since the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 girls from Chibok, an episode that drew global outrage.

In a separate development, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that 50 pupils abducted from a Catholic school in Niger State have escaped and been reunited with their families.

Friday’s attack also follows the recent kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls from a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi State. No group has claimed responsibility for either incident at the time of publication.