The United States has called on Nigeria to “do more to protect Christians” following a mass kidnapping at multiple churches in Kaduna state, as a high-level security meeting began in Abuja on Thursday.
Speaking at the event, Allison Hooker, State Department under secretary for political affairs and head of the U.S. delegation, highlighted the abduction of more than 170 people but did not mention Muslim victims of violence.
The attack in Kaduna on Sunday, blamed on armed gangs known locally as “bandits”, is the latest in a series of mass abductions in the country. Police initially denied the incident, but survivors provided harrowing accounts of the assault.
A visit by the state governor on Wednesday revealed the aftermath of the raid, with church furniture overturned and 68 children and 56 women reported among those held captive.
U.S. priorities in Nigeria include countering terrorism, investigating attacks, holding perpetrators accountable, and reducing killings, forced displacements, and abductions of Christians in north-central states.
