Bandits who abducted about 35 worshippers from the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Igan, in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, have demanded ₦100 million ransom for each victim, The PUNCH has learnt.
Multiple family members and community leaders confirmed on Thursday that the kidnappers contacted relatives using the mobile phones of the abducted worshippers, seized during the Tuesday evening attack.
The Secretary of the church, Josiah Agbabiaka, said the abductors had already begun reaching victims’ families.
“It is true that the bandits have started contacting family members using the victims’ phones to demand ransom. From what we were told, they grouped the victims. The first group of 11 people has been asked to pay ₦100 million each,” Agbabiaka said.
The Olori Eta of Eruku, Chief Olusegun Olukotun, whose four relatives were among the abducted, confirmed that the criminals were contacting families in stages.
“Some people in the community have received calls from the kidnappers demanding ₦100 million for each person. They said the victims were grouped and they are calling each group’s relatives,” he told The PUNCH.
Olukotun, who said he was inside the church with five members of his family during the attack, explained that he escaped through a window while others were taken away.
The town’s traditional ruler, the Owa of Eruku, Oba Busari Olarewaju, appealed for urgent government intervention, commending the prompt deployment of soldiers following Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s visit to the community on Wednesday.
“Last night, soldiers entered our community minutes after the governor visited. Their presence gave us some assurance that the government is responding. But we are still appealing that efforts should be intensified to rescue our people as quickly as possible,” the monarch said.
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, declined to comment, insisting that inquiries be directed to the police.
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the command had not received any official report of ransom demands.
“We are not aware of any demand for ransom or contact made to the family members of the victims. Our tactical teams, alongside the military and other security agencies, are on ground and making concerted efforts to rescue the abducted victims,” she said.
Ejire-Adeyemi added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, urged community members to provide timely intelligence that could aid the rescue operation.
The attack on the Eruku church is the latest in a troubling wave of violence across Kwara State, heightening fears about the spread of banditry into previously peaceful communities in the North-Central region.
