A seniorChristianclergy member and a village head said more than 160 people were seized in Kurmin Wali village. A security report prepared for theUnited Nationsnoted the kidnapping of more than 100 people at multiple churches.

Kaduna state police and two senior government officials had earlier denied any abduction, saying security officers visited the area and found no proof of any kidnapping.

But late Tuesday, national police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin said an abduction had occurred and that security operations were under way with a clear focus on locating and safely rescuing the victims and restoring calm to the area.

He said earlier remarks by police and other officials inKadunawere intended to prevent unnecessary panic while facts were being confirmed.

Those remarks, which have since been widely misinterpreted, were not a denial of the incident but a measured response pending confirmation of details from the field, including the identities and number of those affected, he said.

US launches air strikes against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria

Names put forward

Subsequent verification from operational units and intelligence sources has confirmed that the incident did occur, Hundeyin said.

A Christian grouping in northernNigeriahas submitted a list of people seized during the attack.

We did produce the names of over 177 people and there is no contest that it was real, Reverend Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the countrys north, told the French news agency AFP.

Such a number couldnt have been taken and you think you can bury it just like that.

He said there was also evidence of those who escaped even with injury.

Nigerians push back on Trumps military threat over Christian killings

Pressure and violence

The attack is the latest in a wave of mass kidnappings targeting bothChristians and Muslims in Nigeria. Armed gangs, known locally as bandits, frequently carry out mass kidnappings for ransom and loot villages, mainly in the northern and central parts of the country.

In November, armed gangs seized more than 300 students and teachers from aCatholicschool in Niger state. Fifty escaped and the rest were released in two batches weeks later.

US PresidentDonald Trumphas focused on insecurity in Nigeria, putting Abuja under diplomatic pressure.

In late December, theUnited Stateslaunched strikes on what it and the Nigerian government said were militants linked to theIslamic Stategroup in Sokoto state, with Nigeria saying it approved the strikes.

Nigeria has also struck a $750,000 per month deal with a US firm to lobby Washington to helpAbujacommunicate its actions to protect... Christian communities and (maintain) US support in countering west African jihadist groups, according to disclosure forms filed with the US Department of Justice.

(with newswires)

Originally published on RFI