Residents said the attackers moved across parts of the town, leaving bullet holes in walls and doors.
Barely 48 hours after the rescue of 38 abducted worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State has recorded another bandit attack, this time in the neighbouring community of Isapa, in Ekiti Local Government Area, where 11 residents were seized on Monday evening.
Community members said the gunmen, numbering between 20 and 30, arrived around 6 p.m., shooting indiscriminately and moving through the settlement with a herd of cattle.
According to a report by Ilorin-based National Pilot newspaper, an elderly woman was struck by a stray bullet during the assault.
A community leader, who spoke under anonymity because of safety concerns, confirmed that seven of the kidnap victims are from the same family..
The abducted persons include a pregnant woman, two nursing mothers and several young children.
The victims have been identified as; Talatu, Kabiru (20), Magaji (6), Kande (5), Hadiza (10), Mariam (6), Saima (5), Habibat (housewife), Fatima Yusufu (housewife), Sarah Sunday (22, pregnant), Lami Fidelis (23, nursing mother), and Haja Na Allah (nursing mother).
Residents said the attackers moved across parts of the town, leaving bullet holes in walls and doors. Expended AK 47 cartridges were later recovered by locals after the gunmen retreated into the forest.
Monday’s attack occurred one week after armed men invaded the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Igan, in Eruku, killing three worshippers and abducting more than 30 others.
The captives were released on Sunday following coordinated operations by the military, police and SSS, as confirmed earlier by President Bola Tinubu and the Kwara State Government.
The fresh abductions have deepened public anxiety in communities along the Kwara–Kogi border, an area already struggling with repeated incursions by armed groups.
Police authorities in Kwara were yet to provide fresh updates on the rescue effort.
Repeated calls to the state command were not answered, and officers familiar with the operation declined to comment, leaving families and community leaders waiting for an official brief on the status of the search.
Credit: Premium Times