PHOTOS: Community Secures Release of 17 More Kidnap Victims from ECWA Aiyetoro Kiri Church Attack, Kogi West
The Aiyetoro Kiri Bunu Development Association, in collaboration with family members, has successfully secured the release of 17 additional victims abducted from the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Aiyetoro Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area.
The latest releases follow a series of painstaking negotiations and substantial financial commitments. The association announced that 14 individuals were freed on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, building on earlier progress. Three victims had been released on Monday, January 12, 2026.
“You will remember that, on Sunday December 14th, over 30 parishioners were abducted from EWCA Aiyetoro Kiri Bunu. Concerted efforts have since then been engaged in seeing to their release,” the statement recalled.
Initial reports indicated that armed assailants stormed the First ECWA Church during a worship service on December 14, 2025, abducting dozens—including children and elderly worshippers and killing at least one person, a seminary graduate. The incident marked the third major attack on the community in 2025, highlighting persistent insecurity in the Bunu District.
On January 1, 2026, seven people were released; four alive and three dead following rigorous negotiations and a payment of ₦15 million.
“From the above, a total of 24 people have been released,” the association stated. “While the association keep striving for the release of her people, it is our prayer and hope, that, they shall all safely join us.”
The releases came at a heavy cost. “This was not without painful parting with humugus resources,” the group noted, underscoring the burden on the community to raise funds for ransoms amid limited government intervention.
This development brings relief to families who have endured weeks of anguish since the December attack, which saw initial ransom demands reportedly as high as ₦600 million. However, several victims remain in captivity, and the association continues its efforts.
Aledare Jide Sunday, MASN, National Publicity Secretary, issued the statement on behalf of the National Executive Committee, Aiyetoro Kiri Bunu Development Association.
The releases reflect the community’s resilience in the face of banditry, even as broader calls persist for enhanced security measures to prevent future incidents in Kogi’s vulnerable rural areas.
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