April 6, 2026

Nigerian soldiers have freed 31 civilians after a group of armed men stormed a church during Easter worship in the country’s northwest region.

The attack occurred on Sunday morning in Ariko village, located in the Kachia area of Kaduna state.

Gunmen opened fire on congregants celebrating the religious holiday, leaving five people dead at the scene.

Easter worship turned into a blood-soaked nightmare in northwest Nigeria when armed men stormed a church in Ariko village, Kaduna state, opening fire on terrified congregants and killing at least five people, with a Christian leaders’ group saying seven died after two churches were hit. But amid the horror came a fierce military response: Nigerian soldiers battled the gunmen, forcing them to flee and abandoning 31 civilians they had seized, while troops recovered the bodies and tracked blood trails left by wounded attackers. Additional soldiers have now been sent in as the hunt continues and the true scale of the attack is still being pieced together.

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