Fresh anxiety has gripped Eruku in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State after gunmen abducted a farmer, Annas Aasanru, on Sunday, only days after 38 kidnapped worshippers of the Christ Apostolic Church Oke Isegun regained freedom.
The attack came one week after the church members were released following five days in captivity, during which three worshippers were killed. The survivors were moved to Ilorin, where the state government placed them under medical observation at a hotel in the GRA.
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A community leader said the latest attackers arrived with cutlasses and AK-47 rifles before taking the farmer and escaping into the surrounding forest.
Sunday’s abduction deepens concerns about the security situation across Kwara, which has recorded several violent incidents in recent weeks.
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On Saturday, the Oba of Bayagan Ile in Ifelodun Local Government Area, Kamildeen Abdul-Salam, went missing after leaving home for his farm.
His motorcycle was later found abandoned along a bush path, prompting a search by police and local vigilantes.
The latest incidents also follow the 24 November invasion of Isapa, a neighbouring community to Eruku, where 11 residents, including a pregnant woman, two nursing mothers and several children, were taken by armed bandits who arrived with a herd of cattle.
Earlier in the month, gunmen stormed the CAC church in Eruku during Sunday worship and seized more than 30 members.
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Residents say the repeated attacks have left communities frightened and uncertain, despite increased patrols and joint operations by security agencies.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Kwara State Police Command, Adetoun Adeyemi, said officers received a distress report at about 2 p.m. that four armed men had entered a farmland along Koro Road around 12:30 p.m. and taken the 40-year-old farmer.
“Upon receipt of the report, a joint team of police officers, military personnel and local vigilantes was immediately deployed to the area for an intensive search and rescue operation,” she said.
She added that “efforts are ongoing to secure the safe return of the victim.”
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