Tension has gripped Kwara State as bandits who abducted 38 worshippers from the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku in Ekiti Local Government Area have reportedly demanded a shocking N100 million ransom for each abductee. According to reports from Leadership Newspaper, the kidnappers have already begun reaching out to families of the victims, pressuring them to pay the outrageous sums.
A respected community leader and Olori Eta of Eruku, Chief Olusegun Olukotun, whose four relatives were taken during the attack, confirmed the disturbing development on Thursday, November 20. Olukotun revealed that he was inside the church with five family members at the time of the incident, but he and one of his wards managed to escape through a window at around 6:06 p.m. as chaos erupted.
He stated that the kidnappers have since established communication with the community, insisting on N100 million per person, an amount that has left residents terrified and distressed.
“From what we gathered from the kidnappers camp, they (kidnappers) have grouped the victims according to their relations and are now calling our people through each of the group. Some people in the community have received calls from the kidnappers demanding N100m for each person but as regard my own people I have not receive any call concerning them, so I am still waiting,” he said
The deadly attack took place on Tuesday, November 18, while members were in the middle of a church service. The gunmen reportedly stormed the premises, opened fire, tragically killing five worshippers, and abducting 38 others. The community is now calling for urgent government intervention as fear and uncertainty continue to spread.
