Church Suffers Multiple Kidnappings, Killings in 24-hours as Southern Kaduna Plunges into New Wave of Terror
By Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James
Kaduna, Nigeria—Southern Kaduna has been thrust into a state of fear and grief after a new wave of coordinated assaults by Fulani terrorists resulted in multiple kidnappings—including two Catholic Church leaders—and the killing of a priest’s brother. The attacks, carried out within a span of just 48 hours from November 17 to November 19, 2025, have triggered renewed alarm across Christian communities that say they are facing a systematic and escalating campaign of terror.
Residents describe the week as one of the deadliest and most terrifying in recent memory, with many homes deserted after nightfall and churches organizing daily prayer vigils, not only for the safe return of the kidnapped, but also for survival itself.
Wednesday Night Attack: Church Leader Abducted
The most recent attack occurred late on Wednesday, November 19, when Fulani Ethnic Militia stormed Magamiya village in Zangon Kataf County. At around 11 p.m., the gunmen opened fire, forcing families to flee into surrounding bushes before they seized Bitiyock Dominic Yahaya, a respected church leader in the Kafanchan Catholic Diocese.
Bitiyock is also the younger brother of the Tribal Chief of the Atyap people, Sir Dominic Gambo Yahaya.
For many in the region, his abduction is not just another kidnapping—it is a direct blow to both the church and the traditional leadership structure of Southern Kaduna.
An internal Catholic Church memo confirmed his kidnapping and asked parishioners to intercede for his safety. “It is a painful moment,” one church elder told TruthNigeria. “We cannot understand why this terror continues unabated.”
Monday Morning Raid on St. Stephen’s: Priest Taken, Brother Killed
Two days earlier, on the morning of Monday, November 17, Fulani terrorists attacked Kushe Gugdu in Kagarko County and stormed the parish house of St. Stephen Catholic Church. They kidnapped the parish priest, Rev. Fr. Bobbo Paschal, and killed the brother of Rev. Fr. Anthony Yero. Several parishioners and villagers were also abducted during the invasion.
The Chancellor of the Kaduna Catholic Archdiocese, Fr. Christian Okewu Emmanuel, confirmed the incident in an official memo.
“We call on all men and women of goodwill to join us in praying for their safety and quick release,” pleads Fr. Christian Okewu Emmanuel, Chancellor, Kaduna Catholic Archdioceses.
He lamented the persistent targeting of Catholic clergy and expressed deep concern about the safety of priests serving in communities now overtaken by fear.
A Wider Pattern: Rights Groups Warn of Collapse in Security
Amnesty International had raised alarm just days earlier after the November 12 attack in Gidan Waya, Lere Local Government Area, where terrorists abducted 12 people—including an ECWA pastor—and killed four others. The global rights group described the attack as part of a “longstanding pattern of insecurity and government inaction.”
Local activists and church leaders agree. Many say the crisis has evolved far beyond sporadic banditry into a deliberate, targeted assault on Christian communities, clergy, traditional leaders, and the social institutions that bind these communities together.
Analysts: ‘Terrorists Are Targeting Christians in Southern Kaduna’
Security experts interviewed by TruthNigeria say the attacks are not isolated and that the timing and targets reveal a coordinated agenda.
Usman David Dogo, a lecturer at Benue State University in Makurdi, believes the violence fits into a long-standing pattern rooted in political and ethnic tensions.
“Southern Kaduna region have suffered deadly attacks of genocidal scale in the past 8 years of the former Governor Nasiru El Rufai administration,”
He referenced the testimony of Rev. John Joseph Hayab, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Northern States, who had said, “I am used to the burial, 100 and 200 Christians.”
Dogo said the situation briefly improved when President Bola Tinubu appointed General Christopher Musa, a Southern Kaduna native, as Chief of Defense Staff in 2023.
“He made a series of security changes which reduced the attacks by 90 percent. But with his removal, the terrorists have increased their attacks,” Dogo said.
According to him, this proves the militants are tactically aware.
“This shows the Fulani terrorists are not leaderless criminal gangs, they listen to news, get the pulse of the nation and know when to strike,” Dogo said.
Coordinated Assaults Across the Middle Belt
Another security analyst, Friday Agbo of Alterconsult Think Tank, told TruthNigeria that the attacks across the North-West and Middle Belt show clear coordination.
“Just a few days after US President Donald Trump issued the ultimatum to Nigerian government to halt the Christian genocide, Fulani Ethnic Militia upped the attacks on Christians especially Catholic churches all over the Middle Belt,”
He pointed to the killing of three Catholics in Aye Twar, Benue State, just days ago, about November 14, and the 25 Christians killed in Southern Taraba sometime about November 8, when Fulani Ethnic Militia escalated attacks across several villages.
“The Fulani terrorists are deliberately escalating these attacks to provoke reactions from Christians,” Agbo said
Agbo warned that violence is becoming widespread and deliberately provocative.
“It is all over in the North, from Borno to Kwara, Christians are being attacked, the aim of the attackers is to provoke a civil war in the country so that the American Government would say it is a case of two ethnic or religious groups fighting.”
A Community Living in Fear but Holding onto Faith
Across Southern Kaduna, families sit awake through the night, listening for footsteps, gunshots, or the crackle of burning homes—signs that terrorists have again descended. Church leaders are conducting back-to-back vigils, praying for peace and the safe return of the abducted.
Despite the fear, the community continues to gather, refusing to surrender its identity or its faith.
But as kidnappings and killings escalate, many residents say they fear one thing above all: that the world may not understand the scale—or the intent—of what is happening in Southern Kaduna.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria based in Kaduna.
