At the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Omugo, in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State, last Sunday, the service, which started at 8.30am, was already underway without any premonition that any evil was lurking around the corner.
Omugo, a sleepy community, is about seven kilometres from Omu-Aran, the country home of Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church, reports Sunday Vanguard.
The Bible Study, which started 8.30 am, ended by 9.30am and the proper Sunday service commenced.
The church programme was normally going on until exactly 10:10 am when eight hooded terrorists were sighted about a kilometre away, shooting sporadically into the air, marching towards the church.
The scenario was not different from an earlier incident about five months ago when terrorists attacked the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Oke-Isegun in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government, and abducted 38 members of the church.
It was reliably gathered that the over 60-member church in ECWA Omugo including youths, women, young and old fled in every direction to avoid being abducted by the terrorists.
According to Pastor Toba Omole whose wife was among the victims, in an interview with journalists he said noise of gun shots of the terrorists first attracted members before they were physically sighted about a kilometre away marching towards the church.
“The church was almost empty before they arrived because almost everyone has run away, remaining the aged ones who couldn’t run and were abducted, “he said.
Baby girl
It was however gathered that wife of the church pastor, was also kidnapped because she was strapping a baby girl belonging to a member of the congregation on her back, and so couldn’t run fast.
She was reportedly grabbed from the back by one of the terrorists while the baby girl was taken away from her and put on the ground while she was taken away with others.
At the last count, eight persons including three aged women, the pastor’s wife, a middle-aged lady and three men were abducted by the terrorists.
Meanwhile, a tiktok video of the terrorists’ attack on the church that went viral also showed how a woman in her 70s, a member of the church, was left alone by one of the terrorists after shouting, “Jesus save me!” when she was about to be taken along with others.
The woman in the video, in her local dialect, narrated, “I’m aged and having pains on my legs, but was trying to run as much as I could when I noticed that one of the hooded terrorists held my hand from the back, and I shouted with all my voice ‘Jesus save me’, then he released my hand.
“Then he held my second hand again and I shouted with all my strength ‘Jesus save me’. The terrorist released my hand but went away with my bag which contained my offering and my Bible.
“But later the terrorists dropped my bag in the forests because one of the hunters who found it brought it to me and all my items were intact”.
It was also gathered that six other members of the congregation who could have been taken away by the terrorists were allowed to go on account of ill health and poor eyesight.
It was also learned that two nonagenarians, Rachael Ifabiyi and Alice Afariogun, who could neither see nor walk properly, were initially abducted and brutalised by the terrorists.
But the duo reportedly constituted an impediment when they were being taken away in the forests with others, so they were abandoned to find their way back home.
It was also gathered that from Omuaran to Omugo through Olla, another nearby major community, there is no single police presence or a checkpoint to register the presence of security in the neighbouring communities.
Lamentations
The Vigilante Commander in the town, Akeem Ibrahim, lamented to journalists that the lack of weapons and ammunition to match what the terrorists possess is their main challenge.
Residents lamented that even the police post constructed by Omugo community for the police was not taken over for use, despite meeting all demands, adding that this exposes the community to undue exposure to security threat and attack of which the incident of Sunday, March 22 was the third in recent times.
The traditional ruler of the community, Olomugo of Omugo, Oba David Ajiboye Odeyemi, in an interview with journalists, appealed to the state government to assist in arming the local vigilantes so that they can secure their community.
“Kwara State government should please come to our rescue by arming our vigilantes so that they can be able to effectively secure our community, “the monarch pleads.
In its reaction to the development of Sunday, Kwara State government, through the state commissioner for communications, Bolanle Olukoju, tasked security forces and local vigilantes to ensure that the bandits are apprehended.
“The government commended the security forces, forest guards, and local vigilantes for the proactive response to the incident and the rescue of three of the eight victims of the abduction”, she said.
The government also condemned the cowardly targeting of religious places under any guise.
The state government urged the security forces, forest guards, local vigilantes, and community members to continue to work together to end the menace.
“While commending the immediate response of the security forces and other stakeholders, we task them to ensure that the ongoing manhunt leads to the rescue of the remaining victims and arrest of the perpetrators,” according to the statement.
“The government also commended the security forces, forest guards, and vigilantes for the appreciable progress made in their combing of the forests, which has largely curtailed the activities of the criminals in the areas.
“The government again assured the people of its continuous commitment to work with security forces and community stakeholders to protect lives and property”, the statement also said.
While the stakeholders are apparently expecting the rescue of the victims by terrorists as demanded by the state government, the daring terrorists have demanded N1billion before the victims can be released.
N1billion ransom
Pastor-in-Charge of the church, Toba Omole, who confirmed on Tuesday that eight members of his church, including his wife, were still in captivity, added that the terrorists were demanding N1billion to release members of his church.
Omole said the terrorists made the demand after allowing the community to speak with the abducted victims on Tuesday morning.
“This morning, to the glory of God, we heard from our people who were abducted about three days ago. We heard their voices, and I heard my wife’s voice and other members — the men and women that were kidnapped together,” Omole said.
“About eight of them are still there. And right away, the kidnappers made their demand. They requested N1 billion from us in order to secure their release.”
While appealing to the government and Nigerians for assistance, the pastor said the ransom demand was beyond the community’s capacity.
“This is beyond our power. We are sincerely in need of your help and assistance. Any negotiations you can make, any efforts you can make to assist us, please do so for us,” he said.
The cleric also acknowledged efforts being made by the government to ensure peace in the state, but said more needed to be done.
“There is still work to do because eight people — our mothers, fathers, and wives — are still in captivity. My wife is there,” he added.
Omole also appreciated the intervention of security operatives who visited the community shortly after the incident.
“We thank God that yesterday evening, army officers came around 5 pm to visit. We raised concerns about the community being left without protection — no officers, no police. The officer in charge assured us, and by around 7 pm, four soldiers were deployed,” he said.
“They stayed with us throughout the night to safeguard the community and put everyone at ease. They left around 8 am this morning. We really appreciate the army officers for what they did.”
