By Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
PANIC and chaos erupted on Sunday in Omugo community, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, when armed men, suspected to be bandits, stormed a church service and abducted worshippers mid-prayer.
The attackers reportedly struck during a service at the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA), firing gunshots into the air to scatter the congregation before making off with eight victims.
Eyewitness accounts described scenes of confusion and fear, as worshippers fled in all directions while the gunmen carried out the attack with chilling precision.
In a statement issued in Ilorin, the Commissioner for Communications, Bolanle Olukoju, confirmed the incident and disclosed that three of the abducted victims had managed to escape from captivity shortly after the attack.
Five others, however, remain in the hands of their captors, with uncertainty hanging over their fate.
“The government condemns the cowardly targeting of a place of worship under any guise,” Mr Olukoju said, while commending the swift response of security agencies, forest guards, and local vigilantes.
Security forces have since launched a coordinated manhunt, with police and military personnel combing surrounding forests in an effort to rescue the remaining victims and bring the attackers to justice.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Adekimi Ojo, who confirmed the development, noted that most of those abducted were elderly, deepening concerns over the vulnerability of rural communities to such attacks.
The assault has once again highlighted the growing audacity of armed groups, who continue to strike at soft targets, including religious centres, with little warning.
For residents of Omugo, the attack has left more than physical scars—it has shaken the sense of safety once associated with places of worship.
As security operations intensify, families of the victims wait anxiously, hoping for safe returns, while a community grapples with fear and unanswered questions.
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