Even luxury estates in Ilorin, Kwara State, are beginning to trade news of bandit sightings with strong urgency. Fear has entered elite circles, where safety was once assumed. And because they are ordinary people too, despite having affluence and influence, they have begun to wonder about how close danger is to their gates.
Tuesday evening in Eruku offers a grim answer.
That evening, around six o’clock, bandits stormed Christ Apostolic Church, shot the pastor, killed another member, and abducted worshippers mid-service. With much of it captured on video and seeing chairs become useless shields, panic has spread across Ekiti Local Government and is even creeping toward neighbouring Kogi State.
Such incidents have multiplied across Kwara’s borders. Oke-Ode experienced two deadly church attacks within weeks. In one assault, 12 vigilante members reportedly died on a Sunday morning. In another, a police officer fell with four residents. Each attack carried the same message: security lines have softened.
What once felt like distant rural trouble now feels like a creeping perimeter. Abductions along the Isanlu-Isin highway, raids in Igbonla, and ransoms demanded in food show a frightening shift. Bandits no longer hide their intent. They walk into towns and ask for supplies.
To be sure, Kwara’s geography assists them. Thick border forests offer criminal cover. Infiltrators from Zamfara and Sokoto are believed to enter through Niger State. With the state’s rural areas remaining poorly policed, bad roads slowing response times, and poverty creating recruits, kidnapping is now fueling its own economy.
Government response has been muscular yet uncertain. Military forces and airstrikes have been deployed to border zones. Vigilantes now fight side by side with security agents. The state assists victims and urges caution. But when has fear moved more slowly than policy?
According to observers, the wealthy now whisper the same concerns long held in villages. Clearly, security has become a shared language. And while some elites hire more guards and others pray harder, the majority are wondering if the safest strategy is quiet relocation.
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