Barely a week after 38 worshippers of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Isegun, Eruku, Kwara State, were abducted by bandits, the state has suffered another violent assault — this time in Isapa, a neighbouring community in Ekiti Local Government Area — where at least 11 residents, including a pregnant woman, nursing mothers, and several children, were captured on Monday, November 24, 2025.

The attack, which occurred around 6 pm, reportedly saw between 20 and 30 gunmen, firing indiscriminately as residents fled into nearby bushes. Bullet holes found in homes, windows and wooden doors on Tuesday morning confirmed the intensity of the gunfire.

A community leader, who spoke to PUNCH under strict anonymity due to safety concerns, said seven members of one family were among those kidnapped. The victims include Talatu Kabiru; six-year-old Magaji; Kande, aged five; 10-year-old Hadiza; six-year-old Mariam; Saima (5); Habibat, a housewife; Fatima Yusufu; a 22-year-old pregnant woman, Sarah Sunday; Lami Fidelis; and Haja Na Allah, a nursing mother.

“This is the worst attack we have seen in recent times,” the community leader said. “People are terrified. Eleven people just disappeared into the bush. We don’t know what tomorrow holds.”

A senior security official confirmed the attack, saying operatives had begun combing the forest stretching between Isapa, Eruku and surrounding settlements. He noted that despite the presence of federal reinforcements deployed after the Eruku church kidnapping, surveillance across the vast forest corridor remains difficult.

The new attack comes against the backdrop of President Bola Tinubu’s announcement on Sunday that all 38 abducted Eruku worshippers had been freed through a non-kinetic operation led by the DSS and the military. The abductors had earlier demanded ₦100 million per victim. Tinubu also referenced other ongoing crises, including efforts to rescue 315 students abducted from St. Mary’s Private Primary and Secondary School in Niger State, saying he cancelled his trip to the G20 Summit in South Africa to coordinate the national response.

Bayo Onanuga, the President’s special adviser on information and strategy, later revealed that security agencies established contact with the kidnappers and pressed for the victims’ safe release in Kwara. A kinetic onslaught, he said, would have risked massive casualties because terrorists frequently use abductees as human shields. He refused to say whether the government paid a ransom to the kidnappers to secure the release.

In Kwara, the state government has ordered the closure of schools in four local government areas as a precaution. The state Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, confirmed the Isapa incident, saying he was on his way to the community to assess the situation firsthand.

The latest abduction marks the third major attack in Ekiti LGA within one month, after 18 residents were kidnapped three weeks ago in Eruku and the recent abduction of the 38 church worshippers during a thanksgiving service.

Fear now hangs heavily over Isapa, Eruku and surrounding communities, with residents worried that bandits may be attempting to entrench themselves in the area. Local vigilantes have intensified nightly patrols, while several religious centres have scaled back evening activities pending improved security.