Fresh details indicate that over 30 persons were abducted, and the death toll rose to three, following a bandit attack on the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Isegun, in Eruku, Kwara State, on Tuesday evening.
The attack in Eruku, which took place around 6:00 pm on Tuesday, was described by the church pastor, Lawrence Bamidele, as having resulted in the kidnapping of over 30 persons. The service itself was a thanksgiving service organized for 18 persons who had been previously kidnapped and freed two weeks prior.
A police official confirmed the death toll had risen to three, as one of the injured victims later died in the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. A video capturing the attack showed masked gunmen entering the church, firing shots, and carrying off worshippers’ belongings.
Kwara State Commissioner of Police Adekimi Ojo confirmed that security presence had been intensified and that a combined team of police, local vigilantes, and intelligence units are tracking the attackers in the surrounding bushes.
The Chairman of the Eruku Progressive Union, Elder Sola Daniel, earlier confirmed 27 people were taken and announced a peaceful protest to the Governor’s House to demand a more permanent security arrangement.
Security expert Dr. Stephen Okwori criticized the country’s reactive approach, stating that since 2014, over 1,680 children have been abducted from schools nationwide, and the frequency of attacks shows that little has changed.
Meanwhile, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in response to this, has requested the immediate deployment of more security operatives by the Federal Government to the Eruku axis.
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