An evening church service in Kwara State turned into terror on Tuesday after armed bandits stormed a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) branch in Oke Isegun, Eruku, abducting an unconfirmed number of worshippers and killing at least two people.
The attack, captured on a live-streamed video seen by Chronicle NG, showed the congregation singing when sudden bursts of gunfire erupted outside. Panic spread instantly. The young pastor leading the service urged members to take cover as shots rang out and armed men advanced towards the building.
More than five gunmen reportedly stormed the church at about 6pm, ransacking the premises and carting away worshippers’ belongings before marching the pastor and several members into the bush.
According to Punch, three worshippers were killed, and a witness recounted how the attackers “came into the church while people were gathered… three people died immediately”, before the pastor and others were rounded up and taken away.
A community leader, Benjamin Ayeoribe, said Eruku has faced repeated bandit attacks for weeks, with distress calls to authorities yielding little help. “We have begged the local and state governments for assistance, but nothing concrete has come. We are living in fear every day,” he lamented.
However, the Kwara State Police Command offered a different account, confirming injuries but not the number of those abducted or killed. Police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi described the incident as “an attempted bandit attack”, saying officers and vigilantes quickly intervened, forcing the attackers to flee.
She said two male victims, Aderemi and Tunde Asaba Ajayi, were found fatally shot, while a vigilante officer, Segun Alaja, sustained gunshot wounds and is receiving treatment at ECWA Hospital, Eruku.
Commissioner of Police Adekimi Ojo commended the swift response of security operatives and vowed that “security agencies will not relent until these hoodlums are totally decimated”.
The attack comes less than 48 hours after bandits abducted 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, underscoring renewed fears over rising insecurity.
