Gunmen storm Ekiti church, gun down pastor, abduct worshippers

There was tension in Eda Oniyo Ekiti, Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State when suspected gunmen stormed a church during an open-air crusade on Tuesday evening.

According to Vanguard, the assailants invaded the crusade ground located at the outskirts of the community in large numbers, opened fire, killed a pastor and abducted several worshippers.

The heavily armed gunmen reportedly operated for several minutes before whisking away their victims into the forest.

“This evening, some gunmen invaded a church around the outskirts of Eda Oniyo during a church programme. They abducted several worshippers, including elderly persons and children.

“They shot the pastor and took the worshippers into the forest. The attackers came in large numbers and were heavily armed,” eyewitnesses said.

At the time of filing this report, efforts to get the police to react to the incident were abortive as calls and messages sent to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, were unanswered.