Nigerian police arrest 33-man gang over church kidnappings

LAGOS: Nigerian police on Tuesday said they had arrested a 33-man gang suspected of involvement in the November kidnapping of 38 people from a church.
The attack on the Christ Apostolic Church in the town of Euruku, in the central state of Kwara, made headlines when it was captured during an online livestream of services, with video showing worshippers fleeing gunfire.
The assault came as Nigeria saw a spate of mass kidnappings late last year, compounding fraught relations with the United States, which had accused Abuja of not doing enough to protect Christians.
All the 38 worshippers were rescued days later.
Nigerian police spokesman Anthony Okon Placid said on Tuesday that the arrested gang members were also “responsible for acts of terrorism, (and) cattle rustling.”
Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria as a quick way to make cash in a country mired by inequality and awash with gang violence.
Several rural parts of Kwara have seen an uptick in violent attacks in recent months, with some blamed on jihadist groups.
Gunmen kidnapped at least 10 villagers in neighboring Isapa about a week after the Euruku incident.
In February, jihadists killed at least 162 people in the mostly Muslim village of Woro.