security forces said Saturday. The attacks were in the southern part of the state, which is majority Christian and where more than 180 people were seized in January during raids on churches. On Saturday, armed men abducted 11 people, including a priest, in the Kajuru Local Government Area, security sources told AFP. A nearby attack on Saturday left three people dead and 38 kidnapped, including a local imam and four members of his congregation.

The day before, two people were kidnapped on the road to Maro, also in Kajuru. Assailants destroyed houses in Maro on Thursday, but the number of victims has not been released. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks. A series of mass kidnappings in late 2025 drew attention to the alarming security situation in Africa's most populous country. In response, the Nigerian president declared a state of emergency and launched a recruitment drive for military and police personnel. The United States has criticised the West African country's failure to control the violence, US President Donald Trump denouncing what he said was the "persecution" of Christians -- a favourite rallying call of the American religious right. Most observers insist the killings and kidnappings committed by jihadist groups and criminal gangs have indiscriminately hit Christians and Muslims. Nigeria's kidnappings have become "a structured and lucrative industry" that generated some USD 1.7 million between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy. (Bssnews)