Although Kwara State does not harbour the kind of near unfathomable Borno forest called Sambisa, it has continued to be targets of gunmen like bandits and terrorists.
The Mid-West state was believed not to be able to harbour insurgents that security forces would not be able to track but the otherwise has been the case in recent times.
In the latest assault, gunmen on Sunday attacked the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA), Omugo in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara and abducted eight worshippers during the service.
A statement issued in Ilorin on Sunday by the Kwara Commissioner for Communications, Mrs Bolanle Olukoju, said the suspected bandits stormed the church premises shooting sporadically to scare members of the congregation.
Olukoju added that three of the abducted victims later escaped from their captors, while five others remained in captivity.
She appealed to security agencies and local vigilantes to ensure the perpetrators are apprehended.
” The government commends the security agencies, forest guards and local vigilantes for their proactive response to the incident and the rescue of three of the eight victims.
” The government condemns the cowardly targeting of religious centres under any guise,” the commissioner said.
When contacted, the Commissioner of Police in Kwara, CP Adekimi Ojo, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.
He said that rescue operation was ongoing, as joint patrols of police and military personnel were after the perpetrators.
The CP said that only two among the kidnapped victims were below 70 year of age, adding that the three others were elderly people.
