Armed gangs have kidnapped dozens of people attending two churches in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, according to local police.

A senior church leader said more than 160 worshippers were abducted by gunmen during Sunday service.

It is the latest mass kidnapping in Nigeria, where both Christians and Muslims have been targeted. Gangs, known locally as “bandits”, frequently carry out such attacks in northern and central parts of the country to get ransom payments.

Describing Sunday’s attack, local police said gunmen armed with “sophisticated weapons” burst into the two churches in Kurmin Wali, a forest community in Afogo ward, at about 11:25 local time.

“The attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush,” Rev Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the country’s north, told the AFP news agency on Monday.