Gunmen on Sunday (Dec. 7) attacked Christians in southeast Nigeria as they were gathering for worship, killing an Anglican priest’s wife and another church member and abducting another priest, sources said.
In the early morning assault on St. Andrews Anglican Church in Isiokwe, a Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) congregation of the Lilu community of Ihiala County, Anambra state, the assailants shot and killed the as yet unidentified wife of the priest, abducted the Rev. Venerable Obies and burned down the church building and homes, local residents said.
Several other church members were wounded in the shooting, they said.
“There was indiscriminate shooting, many worshippers sustained injuries, and there was also extensive property damage, including the burning of vehicles, the church building and the priest’s residence,” said resident Rosemary Emabri. “The attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday as congregants prepared for worship.”
Resident James Okechukwu confirmed that the gunmen invaded the church and started shooting, and state Commissioner of Police Ikioye Orutugu said through a spokesman that the force has “already intensified intelligence-driven operations, deployed the Joint Security Team and strengthened surveillance across the area. No resource will be spared in ensuring that those responsible are apprehended and made to face the full weight of the law.”
Schoolchildren Released
In central Nigeria’s Niger state, 100 of the more than 300 schoolchildren abducted on Nov. 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri village were released on Monday (Dec. 8), the Nigerian government announced.
The students, ages 10 to 17, arrived at the government house in Minna, capital of Niger, and were handed over to the state governor. Neither Nigerian President Bola Tinubu or other government officials explained whether the schoolchildren were freed through negotiations, ransom payment or a security operation. Nigeria has come under pressure from the U.S. administration to curb the violence against and kidnapping of Christians.
“My directive to our security forces remains that all the students and other abducted Nigerians across the country must be rescued and brought back home safely,” Tinubu said in a press statement. “We must account for all the victims.”
Information about the rescue was initially not forthcoming to parents and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Dimas Joseph Mauhuta, a parent to one of the abducted children, Julius Dimas, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the government had yet to notify the family about the releases.
“My son is among the children abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri community,” Mauhuta said. “However, government officials have not contacted us, the parents nor the school authority about the said rescue of some the children. We hoping this is true and looking forward to the return of our children as promised by the national security adviser.”
It remained unclear who abducted the children from the boarding school in Papiri, but residents reportedly suspected armed gangs that target schools and travelers for kidnapping ransoms across Nigeria’s northern areas.
At least 177 children and 12 teachers from the school remain in captivity. About 50 of the schoolchildren escaped 24 hours after they were kidnapped.
“I am pleading with the Nigerian government authorities to as a matter of urgency, to please help us to look for ways on how to rescue our children and staff who are being held hostage by these bandits,” said the Rev. Blessing Amodu, head teacher of the school, in response to inquiries.
U.S. Delegation
U.S. Congressman Riley Moore, part of U.S. delegation that arrived in Nigeria over the weekend, said on X on Monday (Dec. 8) that concrete steps and actions had been discussed with Nigerian officials that could destroy “terrorist organizations” in the northeast and “stop the killing of Christians.”
The delegation, received by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, included congressional members Mario Díaz-Balart, Norma Torres, Scott Franklin and Juan Ciscomani.
Ribadu said in a statement that U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Richard Mills also attended meetings.
“Discussions focused on counter-terrorism cooperation, regional stability, and strengthening Nigeria-U.S. strategic security partnership,” Ribadu said. “I’m optimistic this engagement will deepen trust, collaboration, and shared commitment to peace and security.”
The delegation also visited Benue state in central Nigeria, where thousands of Christians have been killed and millions of others displaced.
The congressional mission came on the heels of a recent visit to Washington by Nigerian officials following U.S. designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.
Moore said of his meeting with the Nigerian delegation that the conversations were “frank, honest and productive” and centered on issues of counterterrorism, security support and the protection of people regardless of religious belief.
Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 (69 percent) were in Nigeria, according to the WWL.
“The measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology,” the report stated.
In the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.
The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.
Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
