Bandits Kill Three, Kidnap Worshippers During Church Service in Kwara

Armed bandits launched a deadly attack in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State on Tuesday, killing three people and abducting at least ten worshippers during an evening service.

Speaking with Vanguard, spokesperson for the Eruku community, Olasukanmi Ayeni, confirmed that the assailants stormed the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Isegun, located on Okeado Street, around 6 pm while worship was ongoing.

Ayeni identified the deceased as Tunde Asabe, Segun Alaja (popularly known by the same name), and one Deremi. He added that a young girl who suffered a severe gunshot wound to the neck remains in critical condition at the hospital.

“The people were abducted inside the church; there are about ten, but it could be more than that. The three corpses are still inside the church as we speak,”
— Olasukanmi told Vanguard.

According to him, the community had resisted multiple attempts by bandits to infiltrate the town in the past four weeks through the Eruku/Egbe and Eruku/Omu-Aran routes. However, the attackers succeeded on Tuesday after reportedly reinforcing.

Ayeni lamented that despite repeated distress calls, neither the state nor the local government authorities responded.

He criticised the Ekiti Local Government Chairman, Wale Awelewa, for ignoring several SOS messages and failing to visit the town as of Wednesday morning. He, however, praised the efforts of local police officers and vigilantes.

“The police in the community have been doing a fantastic job by following our local hunters to the forests to track the hideout of the bandits and chase them away; otherwise, it would have been a worst-case scenario for us,”
he said.

He added that a number of vigilantes who usually support local hunters had been moved to Ilorin for forest guard training, weakening the town’s defensive capacity.

Meanwhile, the Kwara State Police Command confirmed the incident in a statement released by spokesperson Ejire Adetoun Adeyemi.

The statement said that officers responded swiftly after hearing gunshots, forcing the attackers to flee into the bush. A search operation later uncovered victims, including Mr. Aderemi, shot dead inside the church, and Mr. Tunde Asaba Ajayi, found fatally wounded in the bush. A vigilante member, Segun Alaja, was also injured and taken to ECWA Hospital, Eruku.

Commissioner of Police Adekimi Ojo commended the rapid intervention of security personnel and vowed that the manhunt for the perpetrators will continue until they are fully neutralised.

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