Gunmen kidnap 13 worshippers in central Nigeria church attack

At least 13 worshippers were abducted when gunmen attacked a church in Kogi state, central Nigeria, amid rising insecurity in the region, a state official said on Wednesday.

Kogi Information Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo said the assault on First ECWA church, in the remote Ayetoro-Kiri community, on Sunday sparked a gunfight between the attackers and local hunters employed by the state as a first line of defence.

Four of the attackers were killed and at least 10 others sustained wounds, Fanwo said, adding that security forces remained on the trail of the fleeing kidnappers.

The attack is the latest in a series of abductions in central Nigeria and puts more pressure on the government, which is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened military action over what he says is persecution of Christians.

More than and 12 school staff were kidnapped on November 21 by gunmen at a Catholic boarding school in Papiri, central Nigeria. While 50 pupils in the following hours and another 100 were rescued by the government on December 8, others remain in captivity with no update on their whereabouts or condition.

Security forces have intensified operations to rescue the hostages in Kogi, Fanwo said.