By Ayodele Oni
Gunmen suspected to be bandits invaded a Christ Apostolic Church in Eda Oniyo, headquarters of Ilejemeje Local Government, on Tuesday evening, opened fire on worshippers gathered for a special revival programme.
A visiting Pastor from Osun State, identified simply as Aregbe was killed on the spot. He was shot in the chest. Several others were injured.
An unconfirmed number of congregants are still missing.
Witnesses said the attackers stormed the Church around 6:45 p.m., shooting into the congregation.Worshippers scattered into the surrounding bush. Some made it out. Others were hit.
It was gathered that up till Wednesday morning, families are still searching for their relatives, dom of whom took refuge in nearby bush when the shootings were ongoing.
The pastor in charge reported that several worshippers remain unaccounted for, and the exact number of those abducted is still unknown.
Many worshippers are still being declared missing, raising fears they were taken by the gunmen. Others are nursing gunshot wounds.
A community member said residents are living in fear and appealed to government to urgently deploy security personnel to the area
The community remains the only local government in Nigeria without ordinary police post not to talk if full fledge station.
Personnel of the state government owned Amotekun Corps, which maintains presence in the community as at the time of the incident complained of no ammunition and fuel in their vehicle.
Attempt by leaders for assistance has been turned down despite that Eda Oniyo is a boundary community between Ekiti and Kwara state, which has been experiencing security breaches for sometime.
Reacting to the incident, “The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Falade Michael in a statement, stated that he has ordered a thorough investigation and a serious manhunt on the suspected hoodlums who fatally attacked a Christ Apostolic Church at Eda Oniyo-Ekiti.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that, on 28th April, 2026 at about 22:30hrs, while the church members were holding their All Night Prayers somewhere around the outskirt of the town, a group of yet to be identified gunmen numbering about five attacked the worshippers, fatally shot the pastor and abducted some of the church members.
“The Police in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, the Amotekun Corps, the Agro Marshal, the Vigilantes and the local hunters have commenced an aggressive bush combing operations and a serious manhunt on the perpetrators in order to ensure the rescue of the victims and the arrest and prosecution of the culprits.
“The Command CP calls for calm as necessary steps are currently being taken to salvage the situation and forestall reoccurrence, while imploring members of the public especially religious leaders to strictly adhere to the State Government’s earlier directive that all gatherings especially late night gatherings should not be held without the knowledge of the Police for the purpose of providing adequate security before, during and after the events.”
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