Follow Us on Google
From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The Ekiti State Police Command said it has launched a manhunt for some suspected assailants who killed a pastor and abducted several worshippers in Eda Oniyo, headquarters of Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
The tragic incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday around 10:30 pm when some heavily armed men invaded a Christ Apostolic Church(CAC) located on the outskirts of the community during a vigil, shooting dead a pastor and abducting an unspecified number of worshipers during the attack.
The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP Falade Adegoroye Michael, in a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Abutu Sunday, on Wednesday, said he has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and an organised, intensive search operation to apprehend the perpetrators and rescue the victims.
The statement, titled, “EDA ONIYO-EKITI INCIDENT: CP Ekiti orders serious manhunt on perpetrators, assures victims’ rescue,” reads:
“The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP FALADE ADEGOROYE MICHEAL, 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 outskirts 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 operation 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 recurrence, 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.
“Members of the public are charged to be security conscious, vigilant and promptly report any suspicious person or group of persons found within their environments to the Police and other security agencies for necessary proactive actions.”
Accounts of eyewitnesses said the attackers, numbering about seven, stormed the church that fateful night when a vigil was ongoing with scores of worshipers in attendance and committed the heinous crime.
The source added that the attackers, who operated for several minutes undisturbed, shot the presiding pastor, simply identified as Pastor Aregbe and whisked away an unspecified number of worshipers into a nearby forest, while some sustained injuries trying to flee the scene.
The Chairman of Ilejemeje Local Government, Pius Alaba, said the number of the worshipers abducted is yet to be ascertained, and the whereabouts of those who managed to escape are unknown.
“According to the church leadership, some worshippers managed to escape, others were either shot or taken away by the attackers.”
Alaba also confirmed that the corpse of the victim has been deposited in a morgue.
