KARKU, Kaduna State — Gunmen attacked Karku community in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State early Saturday, killing three residents and abducting 11 people, including a Catholic priest, in the latest mass-kidnapping incident to hit Nigeria’s northwest.
The Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan said the kidnapped cleric is Rev. Fr. Nathaniel Asuwaye, parish priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Karku. In a statement, diocesan chancellor Rev. Fr. Jacob Shanet said the attackers struck at about 3:20 a.m., taking the priest and other residents during what he described as a terrorist-style invasion.
Church officials identified those killed as Jacob Dan’azumi, Maitala Kaura, and Alhaji Kusari, and appealed for prayers and urgent action to secure the release of all abducted victims. Northern Christian leaders also condemned the raid, saying recurring abductions of clergy and civilians show that insecurity remains acute despite repeated security operations.
The incident comes days after another major Kaduna kidnapping case generated conflicting official and church accounts before Christian leaders later said all abducted worshippers had been rescued. That episode highlighted both the scale of the kidnapping crisis and persistent trust gaps between state institutions and affected communities over casualty and rescue reporting.
Security in northern Nigeria remains under intense scrutiny, with criminal gangs and extremist actors continuing attacks on villages, roads and places of worship. Analysts say the Karku assault reinforces a familiar pattern: predawn raids on semi-rural communities, rapid hostage-taking, and delayed official communication, often leaving churches and local leaders as first public sources of information. (This is an inference based on current reporting patterns.)
As of Saturday evening, widely cited open-source reports had not published a detailed police operational update on arrests or active pursuit linked to the Karku attack. Community leaders are now urging more visible deployments in vulnerable settlements in Kauru and adjoining areas to prevent follow-on raids and improve response times.
For residents, the immediate concern is the safe return of those abducted. For authorities, the pressure is broader: convert emergency statements into rapid rescue outcomes and sustained protection in one of Nigeria’s most repeatedly targeted security corridors.
