Nigerian Government Told to Ensure Safety of Churches During Christmas Season amid Heightened Insecurity

According to the CSW report, 13 people are now known to have been abducted by armed assailants from the First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Aiyetoro Kiri, Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area (LGA) in the Kogi West Senatorial District.

The attackers reportedly opened fire as they entered the community, before disrupting the Sunday service with gunshots and abducting the worshippers.

According to the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, five of the assailants were killed in a firefight with local hunters “who serve as the first line of defence”.

The commissioner said that a joint task force consisting of members of the army’s 12 Brigade, the Department of State Services (DSS), the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC), and local hunters is currently searching for the abductees in the Ejiba forest, and that security was being tightened around “soft targets like churches.”

Locals also informed Nigerian media that armed assailants had targeted a school in Aiyetoro Kiri around three weeks earlier, but were repelled by local vigilantes.

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The CSW report indicates that the attack on First ECWA Church is the second armed assault on a church in Kogi State in two weeks.

On November 30 militia had reportedly invaded the Sunday service of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba town in Yagba West LGA, abducting the church leader, his wife, a visiting preacher, and several church members.

The attackers are said to have demanded an initial ransom of N500 million (345,000 USD), which was later reduced to N200 million (138,000 USD), and have reportedly issued an ultimatum to the abductees’ families.

Nigerian media also report that an unconfirmed number of people were abducted during an attack in the evening of December 15 on the Jege community in Yagba East LGA, and of a further attack on commuters travelling on the Egbe–Ogbe road in Yagba West LGA in which two people were abducted and one shot and injured while attempting to escape.

The Kogi West Senatorial District has reportedly experienced attacks on 34 communities within eight months, including in the Kabba-Bunu, Lokoja, Yagba East, and Yagba West LGAs, and shares a border with Kwara State, which has witnessed a marked increase in violence by the Mahmuda terrorist faction, among others.

Meanwhile, attacks by Fulani militia reportedly continue in other central states.

On  December 12  Agunu Dutse community in Kachia LGA  was attacked by over 100 heavily-armed assailants who engaged local vigilantes armed with Dane guns in a three-hour shootout in which Manaon Joseph, a 19-year-old student, died and four adults were abducted.

Locals reported receiving no assistance from a military base less than 400 metres away from the area. 

Earlier, on December 9, militiamen killed two people during an attack on Tudun Wadan Ridi village in Chikun LGA.

CSW says that there are also credible reports of planned large-scale militia attacks on the Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Riyom LGAs of Plateau State over the Christmas period.

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In addition, the remaining 153 students and 12 staff members who were abducted in an armed raid on St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in the Papiri community of Agwara LGA in Niger State on 21 November are still in captivity.

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.