At Least Seven Killed in Armed Attacks on Two Churches in Nigeria on Easter Sunday

At least seven people were killed and an unspecified number were kidnapped following armed attacks on two churches in the community of Ariko, Kaduna State, in central Nigeria, during the early hours of Easter Sunday.

The councilor of the Awon district, Mark Bawa, reported that the attackers arrived in large numbers, surrounded the churches, and opened fire indiscriminately. The assaults directly affected worshippers at First ECWA Church and St. Augustine’s Catholic Church.

Poor telecommunications infrastructure in the countryside delayed any rapid reaction by security forces, enabling the assailants to act with impunity over an extended timeframe.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) lamented the climate of pain and distress sweeping the country due to the activities of armed groups and the phenomenon of banditry. The president of the CBCN, Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, linked this security crisis to “many years of poor governance.” He attributed the situation to selfishness, nepotism, and sectarianism, as well as a lack of genuine commitment to the common good of the nation.

Nigeria currently faces a complex security crisis that includes criminal gangs engaged in mass kidnapping for ransom, as well as the activity of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

In the central and northwestern parts of the country, continuous communal attacks and the advance of groups linked to the Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP) keep the population in a situation of extreme vulnerability.