There was a huge plaster on Sarah Peter’s head to staunch the bleeding caused by the blow of a gunman’s weapon.

Sarah, not her real name, was in church in a village in northern Nigeria on Sunday morning when attackers raided the compound to abduct the worshippers and take them away on foot.

The 60-year-old was whacked on the skull with a rifle to encourage her to move.

“Blood was all over,” she said, her fingers brushing the area where the wound was.

“I suffered,” she added, clearly still traumatised by what happened three days earlier.

“They kept dragging me even when I told them I couldn’t walk. Then I hid somewhere until I couldn’t see them any more. I was so weak I had to crawl back to the village.”

Dozens of others were taken away from her branch of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church and two other churches in Kurmin Wali, a village 135km (84 miles) north of the capital, Abuja.

Although 11 people managed to escape, including Sarah, more than 160 people are still unaccounted for, according to the local branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

The remaining villagers have been left devastated and fear more attacks.

Authorities have not released any figures for those missing.

Kurmin Wali is near Kaduna state’s Rijana forest, a hideout for armed gangs, known here as “bandits”, who have been carrying out raids and abductions in the region.

No group has said it was behind Sunday’s raid, but the attack is part of a wider security crisis in Nigeria, with kidnapping for ransom becoming more common.

Paying kidnappers is illegal in Nigeria but it is often suspected that money has been handed over to free those who have been abducted. In this case, no ransom demand has been reported.

There has been an increasing international focus on the issue after US President Donald Trump alleged last year that Christians were being targeted and killed in record numbers. Last month, the US military carried out air strikes on camps of suspected Islamist militants in Nigeria’s north-west.

Nigerian officials have denied that Christians were being singled out because of their faith, and have said Muslims, Christians and those with no religion have all been affected by the insecurity.

There is an air of tension and anger in Kurmin Wali.

The village head said people had been living in fear for a while. Local residents have been urging authorities to improve security and have accused them of trying to suppress information in the wake of Sunday’s raid.

Forty-eight hours of confusion followed the attack as officials initially denied anything had happened, despite eyewitness reports, only to finally confirm events on Tuesday evening.

“They told us not to give out any information, they want to intimidate us but we must tell our story. They have also been stopping some journalists from coming to the town,” said a young man in his 20s, who wished to remain anonymous.

It is not clear why the authorities may have been reluctant for news to get out, but Kaduna state governor Uba Sani told the BBC that officials wanted to confirm details first before making any statements.

However, that does not explain why the local police chief and a state official initially denied there had been any attack, describing the reports as a “mere falsehood which is being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs who want to cause chaos”.

The BBC also faced difficulties reaching Kurmin Wali, after a politician and security personnel attempted to block access to the village.

But we managed to get through and once inside, we found a scene of chaos in the building of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church. Colourful plastic chairs were on their sides, prayer books scattered on the floor and musical instruments broken, as if the moment after the attack had been frozen in time.

Nearby, Christopher Yohanna was looking forlornly at his two-year-old daughter. He said he managed to escape from the attackers with his child.

“We were in the church when we heard shouting. When we came out and tried to run, we saw that gunmen had already surrounded the village.”

He was lucky not to be caught, but he is devastated because his two wives and other children were not so lucky.

“If my family is not with me then my life is worthless and free of any joy,” he said.

Governor Sani was in Kurmin Wali three days after the attack, pledging to establish a military base, a hospital and a road in the area. He also announced relief measures for affected residents, including medical support.

“We cannot relocate them because they have to farm… but to ensure that we protect them going forward, we need to have a military base around that area between that village and Rijana forest,” he told the BBC.

He also said efforts were under way to work with security agencies to rescue those still in captivity.

“When we met [the villagers] I affirmed that we are with them and… we will not let any of them down.”

As the residents of Kurmin Wali wait anxiously for the return of their family members, they are hoping the governor keeps to his word.