Kwara: Terrorists reject N10 million offer

2026-03-29 - 21:05

...Eight ECWA Church Members Remain in Captivity in Kwara Community By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin OMUGO, Kwara State — Residents of Omugo Community in Ifelodun Local Government Area are living in fear and fleeing their homes following persistent attacks by armed bandits. Eight members of the ECWA Church in the community remain in captivity, according to Pastor Toba Omole. Vanguard gathered that the community had attempted to negotiate the release of the hostages by offering N1 million, but the bandits rejected the amount and demanded N1 billion before freeing the worshippers. Pastor Omole was allowed access to the abducted members last week Tuesday. “The terrorists have rejected our offer of N1 million and insist on receiving the full N1 billion before releasing our members,” Pastor Omole said. The recent attacks have left the once lively Omugo Community largely deserted, with only a few domestic animals remaining, sources said. Three of the eight abducted members managed to escape, while the others, including the pastor’s wife, remain in the hands of the bandits. Separately, last week armed bandits attacked Oro-Ago Community, killing a vigilante identified as Baba Ibeji and injuring his younger brother, Ajere. The attackers also broke into a Point of Sale (PoS) shop directly opposite the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) divisional office and fired shots at the facility, though no casualties were reported at the NSCDC office. Earlier ambushes in the area included the killing of two local hunters escorting a convoy between Oro-Ago and Oke-Ayan in Ilere district. On Saturday, security agencies raised alerts over a potential new attack, though no incident occurred. Efforts to obtain official statements from security authorities on the latest developments were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.