•Bandits
Gunmen have attacked a church in Kogi State, kidnapping a pastor and his wife.
The attack on the newly established Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area, occurred during Sunday service today, reports Channels TV.
The community was said to have been thrown into chaos after armed bandits launched an attack during the church service.
According to a local, the attack forced worshippers to run for safety as gunshots echoed through the area. The pastor of the church, popularly known as Orlando, was taken away along with his wife and several other members.
Residents described the incident as terrifying, saying the bandits stormed the community unexpectedly and left many people in shock. The exact number of those abducted is yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Government today said it has intensified surveillance and, manhunt against the bandits that attacked the church.
It is yet to be ascertained the exact number of members of the church that were whisked away by the gunmen.
However, the State government, through the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, said security agencies were working to secure the release of the kidnap victims.
“The authorities of Yagba West Local Government Council are working hard with the security agencies to ensure those kidnapped are rescued alive. The perpetrators, too, already know that Kogi will do everything possible to secure every one of its citizens abducted.
”The governor of the state, His Excellency Alh Ahmed Usman Ododo, is coordinating activities, and we will keep the press updated on the operations.
”We urge the citizens to be security-conscious and also report suspicious movements and faces to security agencies. When you see something, say something.
”Worship Centres in the outskirts should also reconsider worshipping in crime-prone areas for now until the situation gets better.”
The Frontier reports that following mass attacks and killings of Christians in Nigeria by gunmen, the Penticostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Wale Oke, recently cried out insisting that there’s an ongoing “Christian genocide” in the country, accusing the government of indifference and complicity in the face of persistent attacks on Christian communities.
Speaking after an emergency executive meeting of the Fellowship held on November 13, 2025 at its national headquarters in Lagos, PFN President, Bishop Wale Oke, said the body would no longer remain silent while Christians are “targeted, killed, raped, and displaced” across the country, reports Vanguard.
“Let us call a spade a spade. There is Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria,” Bishop Oke declared.
“Even while we speak, killings are still taking place in Borno, Plateau, and Benue States. When Christians were massacred in Dogon Noma in Plateau, what do we call that? When Christmas Day turned into a bloody day in Benue, with hundreds massacred, what name should we give it?”
He noted that the PFN had consistently drawn attention to the killings and abductions but lamented that the government had failed to act decisively to end them.
Oke added that the church’s warnings had been ignored for over 15 years, only gaining renewed attention after the U.S. President, Donald Trump, publicly spoke about the issue.
“We have been crying for years, presenting data and evidence, but our cries were not taken seriously. Now that Donald Trump has spoken, we are joining our voices with his to appeal to the international community to help stop this evil. The blood of the saints is crying out,” he said.
