Fresh fears over the worsening security crisis in South-West Nigeria deepened after armed gunmen invaded a prayer ground in Kwara State, killing three worshippers and abducting at least 15 others during a night vigil.
The attack, which occurred at the Ori-Oke Ajaiye prayer ground in Ikiran, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, has added to a growing list of violent incidents linked to armed bandits and kidnappers spreading across parts of the South-West region.
According to the Kwara State Police Command, the gunmen stormed the prayer camp around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday while members of a church congregation were holding a vigil service. The attackers reportedly opened fire sporadically, killing three persons instantly before whisking away several worshippers into the bush.
Police spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Sunday, describing the attack as “barbaric, callous and unacceptable.”
She disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, had immediately ordered a large-scale rescue operation involving tactical teams, police drones, mobile police operatives, intelligence units and other security assets.
“The command has deployed all available operational resources to ensure the safe rescue of the abducted victims and the arrest of those responsible for this heinous act,” the statement said.
The latest assault comes amid rising insecurity across the South-West, where schools, highways, farms, worship centres and rural communities have increasingly come under attacks from heavily armed criminal gangs.
In neighbouring Oyo State, gunmen recently invaded schools within the Ahoro-Esiele axis of Oriire Local Government Area, abducting pupils, teachers and school administrators. The attackers reportedly killed an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist during the raid.
One of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was later gruesomely murdered in captivity, with a disturbing video allegedly released by the kidnappers showing him being beheaded while tied up.
The violence triggered widespread panic across several Oyo communities, forcing terrified parents to storm schools and withdraw their children over fears of fresh attacks by bandits.
Similarly, residents of communities in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, which borders parts of the South-West, were recently thrown into panic after suspected bandits reportedly crossed into the area from forest corridors linked to Kwara State and abducted two persons.
Security experts and residents have continued to express concern that criminal groups displaced from the North-West and North-Central regions are gradually expanding operations into South-West forests and border communities.
Despite repeated assurances from security agencies and government authorities, many residents say fear and uncertainty now dominate several rural communities, especially around isolated settlements, schools and worship centres.
The Kwara police command urged residents to remain calm and support ongoing operations with credible intelligence capable of assisting security agencies in tracking down the attackers and rescuing the kidnapped victims.
