\n<\/p>\n
The Nigerian Army claimed on Sunday that its troops stormed a church in the village of Ariko and freed 31 hostages from the clutches of an armed gang. <\/span><\/p>\n The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) disputed those claims on Monday, claiming no rescue has been completed and the churchgoers are still being held hostage.<\/span><\/p>\n The church in Ariko, located about 62 miles north of Nigeria\u2019s capital city of Abuja, was <\/span>raided<\/span><\/a> by gunmen on Sunday morning during Easter celebrations \u2013 part of a <\/span>massive wave<\/span><\/a> of attacks perpetrated against Christians across the country on Easter weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n Local officials vaguely described the assailants as \u201cbandits,\u201d and said they killed five to seven of the civilians in the church during their attack.<\/span><\/p>\n The Nigerian military has often been <\/span>criticized<\/span><\/a> for responding very slowly to bandit and jihadi attacks on Christians. President Donald Trump said in November that if the Nigerian government \u201ccontinues to allow the killing of Christians,\u201d the United States would halt all foreign aid to Nigeria, and \u201cmay very go well into that now-disgraced country, guns-a-blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In the case of the Ariko attack, the Nigerian Army boasted that it was able to respond quickly and decisively, engaging the kidnappers in a \u201cfierce firefight\u201d and forcing them to flee the scene. The \u201cfleeing terrorists\u201d supposedly suffered \u201csignificant casualties\u201d and left \u201cblood trails along their escape routes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThrough a swift response, we have successfully foiled a terrorist attack leading to the rescue of 31 civilians abducted during an Easter church service,\u201d the military <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n This account was strongly disputed by Ariko residents and by Rev. John Hayab of the CAN. Local media reported that, contrary to the military statement, the attackers faced no resistance for much of Sunday afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Hayab said the Nigerian Army is on the scene, but did not conduct the heroic rescue operation it claimed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes, the military \u200bare doing their best to get them back home, but it is \u200bnot fair for the military to claim that the victims have been rescued,\u201d he <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> Reuters in a phone interview on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNow we have misinformation. When we are busy denying, we are \u200bjust giving the bandits the opportunity to strike and go freely,\u201d he complained.<\/span><\/p>\n A local resident told Reuters that funerals were held on Monday for seven people killed at the church, but \u201cno single soul was rescued.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n