The Kogi State government says gunmen in the early hours of Sunday attacked a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area.
The Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, who made the confirmation in a statement on Sunday in Lokoja, strongly condemned the attack.
Gunmen who launched the attack on the church allegedly whisked away the pastor, his wife and some other worshippers.
The incident has thrown the Ejiba community into chaos, with people running helter-skelter in search of a safe place to hide.
Mr Fanwo, who described the incident as very sad and unfortunate, assured that the victims would all be rescued.
“Those who struck at Ejiba must have been hiding in the community for some days or in the bushes around the village.
“Some villagers would have seen them and kept quiet. If you refuse to raise alarms when you see strange faces at a time like this, who knows who will be victims of their madness?
“Worshipping in the bush without security in this era, just a few weeks after worshippers were abducted from a church in Kwara State, to me, is not ideal.
“We all need to be security-conscious at this time. We also need to volunteer intelligence,” he advised.
The commissioner said the state government and the Yagba West LGA have been working hard to battle criminality in the area, as a border LGA.
According to him, Ejiba has had its fair share of criminal activity, yet some pastors still encourage their members to attend church in the bush.
“It’s easy to blame the government, but those suffering in the hands of these incurable irredentists are our people. So why won’t we subscribe to wisdom?
“Avoid absolutely unnecessary journeys at this time. Any journey through the danger zones should be avoided. Do not disclose your movement to anyone again,” he advised.
Mr Fanwo said the state government and the security operatives have taken drastic measures to rescue the kidnapped victims.
The attack comes days after Governor Usman Ododo raised fresh concerns about security threats in Kogi State, revealing that intelligence reports have confirmed the movement of top bandit leaders into the state over the last three days.
According to him, security operatives have tracked major bandit commanders to specific locations within the state, prompting an immediate review of the state’s security strategy.
NAN
