Isapa, Ekiti LGA, Kwara State| Barely 72 hours after gunmen stormed a church in the same village and kidnapped 38 worshippers, terror returned to the sleepy Isapa community on Monday night as heavily armed bandits abducted eleven residents in a coordinated and brazen raid.
The fresh attack has plunged the agrarian community into deeper despair, heightened widespread fear across Kwara and neighbouring states, and amplified demands for decisive government action against the escalating banditry ravaging Nigeria’s North-Central region.
How the Monday Night Attack Unfolded
Eyewitnesses described a scene of pandemonium when, around 9:30 p.m., more than 20 gunmen riding motorcycles and on foot stormed Isapa herding a large number of cattle ahead of them — a now-familiar tactic used by Fulani-affiliated bandit groups to mask their movements.
“The bandits came with hundreds of cows, shooting into the air and ordering everyone to lie down,” a resident who escaped by hiding in a bush told journalists on Tuesday morning. “They moved from house to house, breaking doors and dragging people out. Anyone who tried to run was shot at.”
In the chaos, an elderly woman in her late 70s was hit by a stray bullet and is currently battling for her life at a private clinic in nearby Ilofa.
Eleven People Missing, Seven From Same Family
Community sources confirmed that eleven persons were marched into the surrounding forests at gunpoint.
Tragically, seven of the victims — including the family head, his wife, four children, and one grandchild — are from a single household.
“They took Baba Joshua, his wife, and almost all their children,” a relative said, fighting back tears. “Only one small boy managed to escape into the farm. We have not heard anything since last night.”
The remaining four abductees are young men and women who were seized while trying to assist neighbours.
A Community Already Traumatised
Monday’s raid comes just days after a separate bandit gang attacked worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Isapa during an evening service, abducting 38 members and killing at least three who resisted.
Many of those earlier victims remain in captivity, with families selling property and borrowing heavily to raise millions of naira in ransom demands.
Residents say the rapid succession of attacks has shattered whatever sense of safety remained.
“After the church attack we thought security people would flood this place,” a youth leader lamented. “But nothing changed. The bandits came back because they know nobody can stop them.”
Familiarity Breeds Fear: “They Know Every Footpath”
Several community members noted with alarm that the attackers appeared intimately familiar with Isapa’s layout, taking narrow footpaths that only locals typically use and avoiding compounds where dogs could raise an early alarm.
This observation has fuelled speculation that the criminals either have informants inside the community or have been conducting surveillance for weeks.
Outrage and Urgent Calls for Immediate Intervention
Local leaders, traditional rulers, and civil society groups in Ekiti LGA have issued strongly worded statements condemning what they describe as “criminal abandonment” of rural communities by both state and federal authorities.
In a telephone interview, the Chairman of Ekiti Local Government Area, Hon. Yinka Dallas, confirmed the latest abduction and revealed that a joint team of police, army, and local hunters has been dispatched to comb the forest.
“We are doing everything possible,” he said. “We have reached out to the state government and the 22nd Armoured Brigade in Ilorin for reinforcement. This situation is unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, the Socio-Cultural group Ekiti Parapo has threatened to organise a massive protest in Ilorin if no concrete action is taken within 48 hours.
Rights activist Comrade Ahmed Yusuf told reporters: “Isapa is becoming a slaughter slab. If the government cannot protect citizens in their own homes and churches, then it has failed in its primary duty.”
A Wider Regional Crisis
Security analysts say the Isapa attacks are part of a disturbing surge in banditry, kidnapping-for-ransom, and farmer-herder clashes across Kwara, Kogi, Niger, and the southern fringes of Kaduna and Katsina states.
In 2025 alone, over 2,800 Nigerians have been abducted in the North-Central and North-West zones, according to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).
Hope Fades as Night Falls Again
As Tuesday evening approaches, families of the eleven latest victims are huddled in small groups, clutching phones that have remained silent.
Some have begun pooling money, livestock, and farmland titles — preparing for the inevitable ransom demand that could run into tens of millions of naira.
“We don’t know if our people are alive or dead,” one father whispered. “All we know is that if nothing is done, tomorrow, they will come again.”
Authorities have assured residents that operations are ongoing, but for the traumatised people of Isapa, promises no longer feel like protection.
This remains a developing story. Updates will be provided as security forces report progress and families receive communication from the abductors.
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