{"id":96753,"date":"2025-12-20T21:09:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T21:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=96753"},"modified":"2025-12-20T21:23:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T21:23:42","slug":"video-of-abducted-kogi-church-worshippers-raises-fresh-alarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=96753","title":{"rendered":"Video of abducted Kogi church worshippers raises fresh alarm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Fresh anxiety has gripped residents of Kogi State following the circulation of a disturbing video showing church worshippers abducted by suspected bandits after a deadly attack on <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>Aiyetoro Kiri community<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> in <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>Kabba\/Bunu Local Government Area<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 360px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-96753-1\" width=\"360\" height=\"640\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WhatsApp-Video-2025-12-20-at-14.50.27.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WhatsApp-Video-2025-12-20-at-14.50.27.mp4\">https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WhatsApp-Video-2025-12-20-at-14.50.27.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">The 38-second video, which surfaced online on Tuesday, shows several abducted worshippers \u2014 including elderly men and women as well as young children \u2014 standing in what appears to be a dense forest believed to serve as the kidnappers\u2019 hideout. The footage, shared by the online platform <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><i>Egbe Mekun Parrot<\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, has drawn widespread sympathy and outrage across social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">The abduction occurred during a coordinated assault on <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>Sunday, December 14, 2025<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, when armed assailants stormed the <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA)<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>the Apostolic Church<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> while worship services were ongoing. Witnesses said the attackers took advantage of the peaceful Sunday gathering, surrounding the community before launching their operation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">During the attack, a seminary graduate identified as <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>Pastor Jimoh Adeyemi<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, also known as <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><i>J.J.<\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, was shot dead. Two other worshippers reportedly sustained injuries as congregants attempted to flee in different directions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Residents and local sources disclosed that <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>no fewer than 37 worshippers<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> were abducted. Among the victims are <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>over a dozen children aged between three and eight years<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, as well as <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>more than 10 elderly persons said to be above 70 years old<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">. Many of the victims were reportedly unable to escape due to their age and physical condition as gunmen fired shots and forced them into the surrounding bush.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">The release of the hostage video has intensified fears over the captives\u2019 welfare, with images showing visibly distressed victims standing barefoot in an overgrown forest environment. Families of the abducted worshippers have expressed deep concern over their health and safety.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Reports from the community indicate that the kidnappers have contacted local representatives, allegedly demanding <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>\u20a6600 million<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> as ransom for the release of the victims. The reported demand has heightened tension and desperation among relatives, many of whom are calling for urgent government intervention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Following the incident, Aiyetoro Kiri has been largely deserted, as residents fled in fear of further attacks. Several families have relocated temporarily to nearby towns and villages, leaving homes and farmlands behind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Community leaders described the attack as unprecedented, noting that the gunmen reportedly operated for hours without any resistance or timely security response. Some witnesses also alleged that certain captives were forced to return to their homes to collect cash before being taken away into the forest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">As concern continues to grow, residents, religious leaders, and civil society groups are urging the <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>Kogi State Government<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> and federal security agencies to urgently strengthen security in the area. The incident has once again highlighted rising insecurity in <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><b>Kogi West<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, renewing calls for increased protection of rural communities and places of worship across the state.<\/span><br \/>\n<!--\/data\/user\/0\/com.samsung.android.app.notes\/files\/clipdata\/clipdata_bodytext_251220_215014_868.sdocx--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fresh anxiety has gripped residents of Kogi State following the circulation of a disturbing video showing church worshippers abducted by suspected bandits after a deadly attack on Aiyetoro Kiri community in Kabba\/Bunu Local Government Area. The 38-second video, which surfaced online on Tuesday, shows several abducted worshippers \u2014 including elderly men and women as well [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":96642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5807,7],"tags":[7732,1953,59,1583],"class_list":["post-96753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crime-and-violence","category-news","tag-aiyetoro-kiri","tag-ecwa","tag-kogi","tag-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/96642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}