Gunmen suspected to be bandits have invaded a church in Eda Oniyo, the headquarters of Ilejemeje Local Government Area in Ekiti State, killing a pastor while an unconfirmed number of residents are feared to have been abducted.
The incident occurred during a revival session on Tuesday evening at a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), where worshippers had gathered for the special programme.
According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen stormed the church at approximately 6:45 p.m. and opened fire on the congregation, resulting in the death of the revivalist, identified only as Pastor Aregbe, while several others sustained injuries.
When contacted, the Chairman of the Ilejemeje Local Government, Pius Alaba, stated that several people were still missing, adding that the exact number of those abducted could not yet be ascertained. Information from the pastor in charge of the church indicated that while some worshippers escaped into the surrounding bush, others were shot during the attack. Alaba also confirmed that the corpse of the slain pastor had been deposited at the morgue.
As of the time of filing this report, security agencies had yet to release an official statement on the attack. This incident follows a similar attack in November 2025, when gunmen targeted the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Isegun, in Eruku, Kwara State. That attack left at least two people dead and around 30 worshippers kidnapped, also occurring on a Tuesday evening.
Consequently, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq condemned the attack and called for an urgent reinforcement of security in the area. In that instance, the bandits demanded ₦100 million as ransom for each of the abductees before the release of the worshippers was announced by the state government.
Leave a Reply