At least 13 people were kidnapped during a Sunday morning attack on the Evangelical Church Winning All in Aaaaz-Kiri, a rural community in central Nigeria’s Kogi state. Witnesses said armed men stormed the church, firing indiscriminately before abducting congregants. Kogi State Information Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo confirmed that five attackers were killed during the incident, while others fled injured. Authorities described the assailants as “bandits,” criminal gangs known for kidnappings and ransom demands in Nigeria’s central and north-western regions.
This marks the second church attack in Kogi within two weeks. Earlier, gunmen raided a church in Ejiba, abducting a pastor, his wife, and several congregants, who remain in captivity. Fanwo attributed the surge in attacks to military operations in neighboring states, which have pushed bandits into Kogi. Despite ongoing government deployments of troops and police to high-risk areas, insecurity continues to escalate across the region, posing a serious threat to rural communities.
