Gunmen attacked Holy Trinity Parish in Nigeria’s Kafanchan diocese on Saturday, killing three people and abducting eleven others including the parish priest, Father Nathaniel Asuwaye.

The chancellor of Kafanchan diocese, Father Jacob Shanet confirmed the attack in a statement.

“With profound sadness,” the statement said, “we announce the kidnapping of our priest, Rev. Fr. Nathaniel Asuwaye, the parish priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Karku, Kauru LGA of Kaduna State, Nigeria.”

The statement said the incident occurred at roughly 03:20am West African Time at the parish priest’s residence and cited villager testimony that called the attack “an act of invasion by a group of terrorists.”

“We kindly invite all priests, Christian faithful, and men and women of good will to pray for Fr.Nathaniel, other ten people and the repose of the souls of those who were killed during the attack,” the statement said.

“The entire Diocese of Kafanchan entrusts them to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of all priests and help of Christians, for their speedy and safe release from the hands of these evildoers,” the chancellor’s statement said.

Lay Christians have told Crux they are saddened by the events.

Area layman Benedict Chukwu told Crux all that is left is “for us to pray without ceasing, for our security system has failed us.”

“Only God can save us,” he said.

Susan Ajoke prayed God to “protect them…may your powerful hand keep them safe.”

On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV condemned the violence in Nigeria and called on authorities “to work with determination to ensure the safety and protection of the life of every citizen.”

The incident in Kafanchan diocese underscores the escalating insecurity plaguing Nigeria, where gangs, Boko Haram insurgents, and Fulani militiamen frequently carry out attacks, kidnappings, and killings.

On February 3, over two hundred people were killed in terrorist attacks targeting remote villages in Kwara, Katsina and Benue states.

In a brutal 22-hour assault, terrorists massacred at least 162 people in Nigeria’s Kwara state alone, including women and children.

The attack, which began on February 3rd in the Woro and Nuku communities of Kaiama Local Government Area (LGA), claimed the lives of many victims who were found executed with their hands bound and their throats slit.

In addition to the killings, an unknown number of women and children were abducted.

The killings continue despite the U.S. deployment of what it calls a “small team” to Nigeria to help the African nation deal with its mounting security challenges.

In October, President Donald Trump promised military action in Nigeria following increasing reports of genocide against Christians in the country.

After that warning, President Bola Tinubu dispatched a high-level team led by national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Following the meeting, Hegseth said his department was “working aggressively” with Nigeria to end the alleged persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists.

Days later, the U.S. began conducting intelligence-gathering flights over swaths of Nigerian territory. On Christmas Day, it launched missile strikes on two terrorist enclaves in the Bauni forest of Sokoto state’s Tangaza LGA.

The latest killings suggest that “nothing has changed,” says Emeka Umeagbalasi whose NGO-the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, has been tracking Christian killings in the country.

“The situation is getting worse every day,” he told Crux.

“It’s unfortunate that another reverend Father has been abducted,” Umeagbalasi said.

“Recently in Taraba state,” he said, “a Reverend Father was brought out of his vehicle and burnt alive.”

He said no fewer than 70 Christians were also killed last week in Taraba state and that, despite Nigerian government’s collaboration with the US on security matters, “there is no doubt that the Nigeria security apparatus has been so Islamized that it tends to protect the terrorists.”

He said since 2009, between 1000-1500 Christian leaders have either been killed or abducted.

Statistics from Intersociety indicate at least 185,000 people have been killed in Nigeria since 2009, when Boko Haram began its murderous insurgency in efforts to create a caliphate across the Sahel.

The Intersociety statistics count 125,000 Christians and 60,000 moderate Muslims among the victims.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has weighed into the crisis, warning in a February 7 statement that “Nigeria cannot afford to normalize bloodshed.”

“After years of repeated complaints and unfulfilled promises, violence persists unchecked, leaving more communities devastated and citizens weary of empty condolences that do not guarantee their safety,” says the statement signed by the secretary general of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Father Michael Banjo.

The statement said the renewed cycle of mass violence “has turned our country into a field of grief.”