Unknown armed bandits launched a brazen daylight attack on St. John’s Catholic Church in Egbe, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, during Sunday worship, leaving one parishioner dead and over 20 others abducted. The assault, which unfolded around 9:00 a.m. amid a packed congregation, marks the second major church incursion in the region within weeks, heightening fears over escalating insecurity in Nigeria’s North-Central belt.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of pandemonium as gunmen, numbering about 15 and clad in military camouflage, stormed the church premises on motorcycles and stormed the main auditorium. “They came shooting sporadically into the air and directly at people,” recounted survivor Mama Agnes Ohayi, a 62-year-old trader who escaped with minor injuries. “The priest was saying Mass when they entered. They dragged people out, selected some, and whisked them away on their okadas (motorcycles). We ran for our lives.”
The sole fatality was identified as Mr. Philip Ohayi, a 45-year-old father of five and local farmer, who was shot at point-blank range while attempting to shield women and children. Parishioners rushed his body to a nearby clinic, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. “He was a devoted member of the church’s security team. He tried to confront them but they didn’t hesitate,” said Father Emmanuel Aondover, the parish priest, his voice trembling during an interview at the church gate later that evening.
Kogi State Police Command spokesperson SP Williams Ovye confirmed the incident, revealing that over 20 worshippers—primarily women and youth—were kidnapped. “Upon receiving a distress call at about 0905hrs, operatives from the nearest Divisional Police Headquarters, in conjunction with local vigilantes, raced to the scene,” Ovye stated in an official release.
“Unfortunately, the hoodlums had already escaped with the victims into nearby forests. A combined team of police, military, and other security agencies has been mobilized for a rescue operation and manhunt.”
This attack echoes a similar raid on November 28 at the ECWA Church in the same Dekina LGA, where bandits killed two and abducted 17 during a night vigil. Security analysts link the surge to banditry spillover from neighboring Niger and Nasarawa states, where criminal gangs exploit porous borders and vast farmlands for ransom-driven kidnappings. “Churches are soft targets now because they gather people in one place, and Sundays provide cover in rural areas,” noted Dr. Fatima Yusuf, a lecturer in criminology at Kogi State University.
Local communities have repeatedly appealed for more checkpoints and surveillance drones, but residents complain of inadequate response times. The Catholic Diocese of Lokoja issued a statement condemning the “barbaric act” and calling for urgent federal intervention. “We pray for the repose of the soul of our departed brother and the safe return of the abducted faithful,” read the communique signed by Bishop Sunday Unaeze.
“This is not just an attack on Christians; it’s an assault on our collective humanity.”
As night fell over Egbe, relatives gathered outside the church, clutching faded photographs of the missing and whispering prayers. The abductions have already sparked ransom demands via anonymous calls, with figures rumored between ₦5 million and ₦10 million per victim—funds many families simply cannot afford amid Kogi’s agrarian poverty.Governor Usman Ododo, who cut short a trip to Abuja upon hearing the news, directed security chiefs to prioritize the rescue.
In a tweet, he vowed: “No stone will be unturned until every Kogite is safe.” Yet, with banditry claiming over 1,200 lives nationwide this year according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), skepticism lingers among victims’ kin. The church compound, now cordoned off with yellow police tape, stands as a grim testament to Nigeria’s unrelenting security crisis—one that continues to test the resilience of faith communities in Kogi and beyond.
