UPDATE 1-Dozens abducted in Nigeria church attacks; church leader says more than 160 seized

Armed bandits abducted dozens of worshippers from ⁠two churches in Nigeria's Kaduna state, police said on Monday, while a senior church leader put ​the number of those missing at ‍more than 160. Kaduna state police said gunmen armed with "sophisticated weapons" attacked an ECWA church and a Cherubim ⁠and ‌Seraphim church ⁠in Kurmin Wali, a forest community in Afogo ‍ward, at about 11:25 a.m. on Sunday.

Armed bandits abducted dozens of worshippers from ⁠two churches in Nigeria's Kaduna state, police said on Monday, while a senior church leader put ​the number of those missing at ‍more than 160. Kaduna state police said gunmen armed with "sophisticated weapons" attacked an ECWA church and a Cherubim ⁠and ‌Seraphim church ⁠in Kurmin Wali, a forest community in Afogo ‍ward, at about 11:25 a.m. on Sunday. They ​said officers were still trying to confirm how ⁠many people were taken.

The Chairman of the Christian ⁠Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, Reverend John Hayab, told Reuters by phone ⁠that 172 worshippers were kidnapped, and that nine later ⁠escaped, leaving ‌163 still held. (Additional reporting by Garba Muhammad; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing ⁠by Alex Richardson Editing by ‍Tomasz Janowski)

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