Gunmen Strike Church, Communities in Kogi, Leave at Least Four Dead

Bandits have attacked a branch of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Àaaaz-Kiri community, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, killing at least one person and abducting an unspecified number of worshippers.

Reports from the area said the suspected bandits entered the community in the early hours of Sunday, firing sporadically to scare residents. In the confusion that followed, the gunmen reportedly moved towards the church, where a Sunday service was ongoing, and opened fire.

Although the exact number of casualties remains unclear, a resident who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that one person had been killed, while several parishioners were taken away by the attackers. According to the source, many families are currently searching for missing relatives believed to have been abducted during the attack.

In a related development, gunmen also carried out coordinated attacks on Illai and Okeagi communities in Mopamuro Local Government Area of the state at about 4am, killing three persons and abducting others. Locals said the attackers struck almost simultaneously and operated for more than an hour before distress calls could reach security agencies.

Residents explained that the assailants first attacked Jamroro settlement, located between Okeagi and Takete Isao, where two people were killed. Another group reportedly stormed a settlement near Ilai Grammar School, killing one person and abducting three others. Jamroro is largely inhabited by Tiv farmers, while the settlement near Ilai is said to be occupied by Bassa people who relocated to the area for farming.

Reacting to the incidents, Senator Sunday Karimi condemned the attacks and called for urgent intervention to stem the growing insecurity in the district. In a statement, the senator expressed concern over reports of killings and the abduction of worshippers during the attack on the ECWA church in Àaaaz-Kiri in the early hours of Sunday, December 14, 2025.

He also lamented similar attacks in Okeagi and Ilai communities in Mopamuro Local Government Area, where people were reportedly killed and kidnapped in Tiv settlements. Karimi said many residents fled their homes when the bandits returned in what he described as coordinated attacks, noting that the prolonged insecurity in the area had become deeply troubling.

“The worsening security situation in the entire district calls for urgent intervention from both the federal and state governments, as well as all stakeholders, to tackle the issue head-on and rescue our people from bandits’ attacks,” the senator said.

Karimi further recalled that worshippers abducted from a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Yagba East Local Government Area two weeks ago are yet to be released, warning that communities across the district are now living in fear of recurring attacks and kidnappings.

Similarly, Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, sympathised with the people of Illai and Okeagi over the attacks. He said efforts were ongoing to restore security to the affected areas and disclosed that he had engaged the Mopamuro council chairman and other relevant stakeholders.

“Our thoughts are with the people of Illai and Okeagi at this trying moment. Efforts are ongoing to restore security to the area. We will triumph by the grace of God,” Fanwo said.

As of the time of filing this report, the state government had yet to issue an official statement on the incidents. The spokesperson of Kogi State Police Command, CSP William Aya, was contacted for comments but had not responded.

Analysis:

Beyond the casualty figures and official condemnations, the attacks expose the daily reality of ordinary people whose lives are being steadily dismantled by insecurity in Kogi communities. Worshippers who gathered in church seeking solace were instead forced to flee or were dragged into captivity, while farming settlements inhabited by Tiv and Bassa families were turned into killing fields before dawn. The result is not only deaths and abductions, but a deepening culture of fear, displacement and mistrust that erodes communal life and livelihoods. As families search for missing relatives and others abandon their homes, repeated promises of intervention offer little comfort without visible protection, timely response and accountability. For these communities, insecurity is no longer an abstract policy failure but a lived experience that reshapes how they pray, farm, sleep and survive.