The Kwara State Police Command has confirmed the killing of three worshippers and the abduction of 15 others following a deadly attack by armed assailants at a prayer ground in Ekiti Local Government Area of the state.
The attack occurred on Saturday night at Ori-Oke Ajaiye, located on the outskirts of Ikiran Village in the Ikerin/Ajuba axis of the local government area, throwing surrounding communities into panic.
Sources in the area disclosed that assailants stormed the community in large numbers, attacking worshippers and residents before fleeing through nearby forest routes.
A resident said, “People were running in different directions because of the gunshots. Some families could not even find their relatives until this morning.”
Confirming the incident in a statement issued on Sunday in Ilorin, the spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said Commissioner of Police Adekimi Ojo described the attack as gruesome and condemnable.
“The Kwara State Police Command strongly condemns the gruesome attack, killing, and abduction of innocent worshippers by armed criminals at Ori-Oke Ajaiye, located on the outskirts of Ikiran Village in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State,” the statement read.
CP Ojo said the incident was reported by Pastor Adebayo Abiodun of Ijo Ajaye Ati Igbala, Ekerin Village, who was conducting a night vigil with members of his congregation when the gunmen struck.
“While conducting a night vigil alongside members of his congregation at Ori-Oke Ijaye via Ekerin village, armed hoodlums invaded the prayer ground, firing sporadically,” he said.
He confirmed that three persons were killed during the attack, while 15 others were taken away to an unknown destination.
Operatives attached to the Ekiti Division were immediately mobilised to the scene after the distress report was received. CP Ojo said he has ordered a coordinated tactical and intelligence-driven rescue operation to secure the release of the abducted victims and apprehend those behind the attack.
“A comprehensive tactical and intelligence-driven operation involving the Police Drone Team, PMF personnel, Intelligence Units, and other operational assets has been deployed for a coordinated rescue mission,” he noted.
The command urged members of the public to remain calm and support security agencies with credible information that could aid ongoing rescue and security operations.
The latest attack comes amid recurring assaults on worship centres in Kwara South. In November 2025, armed bandits attacked the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Isegun, in Eruku, Ekiti LGA, killing three worshippers and abducting 38 congregants before the victims were later rescued after a security operation.
In March 2026, another ECWA church in Omugo, Ifelodun LGA was attacked, with eleven worshippers abducted before a joint security response led to the rescue of three victims, while the other eight remain in captivity as of press time.
Both incidents heightened fear in rural communities and led to intensified security operations across forested areas in Kwara State.