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The State Security Service has taken into custody a man accused of coordinating the 14 December 2025 abduction of worshippers at First ECWA Church in Ayetoro-Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
According to Punch, which first reported the arrest, security sources identified the suspect as Shafiu Usman and said he was apprehended in Gombe State after allegedly fleeing Kogi in the aftermath of the attack.
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Security sources told the newspaper that the suspect was tracked to a hideout in Gombe, where he had “been lying low” until SSS operatives arrested him.
The source added that during questioning, the suspect admitted involvement in the Ayetoro church attack and other kidnapping operations in Kogi, Niger and Kwara states.
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“He confessed to orchestrating the Ayetoro church attack, as well as other kidnappings in Niger, Kwara and Kogi States,” the source was quoted as saying, adding that the suspect worked with Ibrahim Battijo, described as a bandit leader operating across several North-central and North-west states.
The source also said the suspect remains in SSS custody and is expected to be arraigned in court.
The arrest follows one of the most troubling church attacks recorded in Kogi State in 2025.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that armed men riding motorcycles invaded Ayetoro-Kiri shortly after the conclusion of Sunday service on 14 December 2025.
The assailants opened fire to disperse residents before abducting more than 30 people, including children and elderly worshippers.
Witnesses said the gunmen first moved through residential compounds before storming the ECWA Church, where many congregants had just concluded the leading service.
Community leaders later confirmed that victims were forced onto motorcycles and taken through forest paths that connect the area to neighbouring communities and border states.
The village head, Olusegun Durowaye, said at the time that dozens of residents were taken during the raid.
Residents also reported that the attackers returned through the same forest corridor they used to enter the community.
In the days that followed, videos surfaced showing some of the abducted victims, including children and elderly women, pleading for help.
Community sources said the kidnappers demanded ransom payments running into hundreds of millions of naira.
The Ayetoro attack occurred amid a broader rise in abductions and killings across the Kogi West Senatorial District.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported a series of church-related attacks in parts of Yagba West, Ofu and Kabba/Bunu local government areas in the months preceding the December raid.
READ ALSO: Again, terrorists abduct worshippers in Kogi church attack
Conflict data reviewed at the time indicated increasing fatalities and kidnappings in the district, with forest routes linking Kogi to Niger and Kwara states frequently cited as escape channels for armed groups.
Security agencies have in recent weeks announced intensified operations across Kogi and neighbouring states, targeting camps and suspected logistics networks used by armed groups.
The SSS arrest is the latest development in efforts to trace those behind the Ayetoro abduction and related attacks in the region.
