Bandits who abducted about 35 worshippers from the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Igan, Eruku, in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, have reportedly demanded N100 million ransom per victim, THENEWSCREDIT has learnt. Multiple family sources and community leaders confirmed on Thursday that the kidnappers have established contact with relatives of the victims, using the phones of those abducted during the Tuesday evening attack. The Secretary of the CAC assembly, Josiah Agbabiaka, told The THENEWSCREDIT that some families had already been reached by the abductors. “It is true that the bandits have started contacting family members using the victims’ phones to demand ransom. “From what we were told, they grouped the victims. The first group of 11 people has been asked to pay N100 million each,” Agbabiaka said. Also confirming the development, the Olori Eta of Eruku, Chief Olusegun Olukotun, whose four family members were among those abducted, said the kidnappers were reaching out systematically. “Some people in the community have received calls from the kidnappers demanding N100 million for each person. They said the victims were grouped and they are calling each group’s relatives,” he told THENEWSCREDIT Olukotun, who said he was inside the church with five members of his family during the attack, said he managed to escape through a window while others were taken away. Meanwhile, the traditional ruler of the town, Owa of Eruku, Oba Busari Olarewaju, has appealed for urgent government intervention to ensure the safe rescue of the victims. The monarch, who commended the swift deployment of military personnel to the community following the visit of the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, on Wednesday, however, stressed that more needed to be done. “Last night, soldiers entered our community minutes after the governor visited. Their presence gave us some assurance that the government is responding. “But we are still appealing that efforts should be intensified to rescue our people as quickly as possible,” the monarch said. When contacted by our correspondent, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, declined to comment. “Kindly speak to the police,” he simply said. However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said that the command had not received any official report of ransom demand. “We are not aware of any demand for ransom or contact made to the family members of the victims. “Our tactical teams, alongside the military and other security agencies, are on ground and making concerted efforts to rescue the abducted victims,” she said when contacted by THENEWSCREDIT on Thursday. Ejire-Adeyemi added that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, had urged community members and relatives of the abducted persons to provide timely information that could aid the operation. “The CP assures residents that the police will continue to do everything possible to secure lives and property in Kwara State,” she added. The attack on the Eruku church is the latest in a series of violent incidents that have rattled communities across Kwara State in recent months. The recent incidents have heightened fears over the growing reach of banditry in Kwara, a state historically considered one of the safer in the North-Central region.

Tragedy occurred on Thursday in the Oba Ile community, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State when a 19-year-old man described as mentally unstable stabbed an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to death. The deceased NSCDC official was said to have been attacked during an attempt to restrain the teenager, following a distress call from the suspect’s mother. A resident who witnessed the incident but spoke on the condition of anonymity told our correspondent that the woman had called in two NSCDC operatives when her son became violent earlier in the day. He said, “When the boy started misbehaving this morning, his mother invited two civil defence officers to help her chain him. Meanwhile, in the process of chaining him, he overpowered the civil defence man and removed the knife from the man and stabbed him. “But, it was unfortunate that the civil defence man died in spite that he was with a gun when the incident happened.” The spokesman for the NSCDC in the state, Daniel Aidamenbor, confirmed the incident, describing it as “unfortunate.” “Yes, the incident happened. It happened when our officer was attempting to take the man to a facility where he would be treated,” he said. Also confirming the development, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the NSCDC officer died from injuries sustained during the struggle. “Yes, it is true that the civil defence officer died while receiving treatment at the hospital,” Ayanlade said.

Jacob McGee, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, has defended the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, CPC, under the administration of President Donald Trump. McGee made the defence on Thursday during a public hearing of the US Congress on Nigeria’s CPC status. He cited the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who was lynched by a mob after being accused of blasphemy. “Her murderers remain free,” McGee said, describing the incident as part of a troubling pattern of abuses, torture, disappearances and extrajudicial killings linked to blasphemy accusations. Terrorism conviction: Nnamdi Kanu lawyer, Ejimakor reveals next step after life imprisonment McGee said the US “stands ready to champion the rights of Christians,” stressing that the annual International Religious Freedom, IRF, reports consistently document severe violations in Nigeria. He noted that violence targeting Christian communities—particularly in the Middle Belt—has become alarming. According to him, numerous testimonies confirm that attackers “used religious language” and “specifically targeted Christians for killing, abduction and rape.” The official also accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect religious leaders who speak out. He referenced Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Father Remigius, who he said received threats instead of protection after testifying before US lawmakers last year. ‎Court sentences Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment for terrorism McGee further condemned Nigeria’s blasphemy laws, enforced under Sharia penal codes in 12 states, saying they violate free speech and place the country among only eight worldwide where blasphemy can carry the death penalty.

The Nigerian government has demanded the imposition of death sentence on Nnamdi Kanu following his conviction on terrorism charges. Counsel to the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, informed the court that the sections of the law under which Kanu was charged and convicted carried death sentence without any option. Addressing the court after the pronouncement, the senior lawyer said the court has no discretion to exercise than to impose maximum punishment on him in line with the dictates of the law. Awomolo held that Kanu throughout the trial did not show remorse for the offences he committed against the Federal Republic of Nigeria but chose to be militant, arrogant and unruly in his attitude. He also demanded that all properties seized from Kanu be forfeited to the Federal Government. The prosecution counsel equally demanded that Kanu be taken to prison where his security will be guaranteed till when the judgment against him would be executed.

Nollywood actor and human rights activist Yomi Fabiyi continues to claim he has significant evidence regarding the death of singer Ilerioluwa Aloba known as Mohbad, which he alleges points to murder and a subsequent cover-up. He made the fresh claim in a video he posted on social media, where he also appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu to intervene. Fabiyi said the clip was sent to him in an an attempt to extort him. The actor in a viral clip on Thursday said, “President Bola Tinubu, I wrote to you in May 2025 that Mohbad was murdered. Part of the video was sent to me in an apparent attempt to extort me. Your office wrote and gave a directive to the Inspector General of Police that they should investigate, harmonise, and prosecute.” Fabiyi claimed that investigators at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja had reviewed the case file and identified, he said, key suspects in an alleged cover-up.

Fear has gripped Nigerians following the recent surge in killings and mass abduction by bloodthirsty terrorists causing mayhem across the nation. There has been a bloodbath in the last five days, with scores of unsuspecting citizens gruesomely murdered, while a large number of persons were abducted. THENEWSCREDIT reports that in the last 7 days, nearly 200 people have been kidnapped following a series of attacks in Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger and Kwara, Kaduna and other states. On Saturday, November 15, the daredevil assailants attacked Fegin Baza village in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, killing at least three persons and abducting over 64 others. Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Thursday morning ‎ Barely 24 hours after the Fegin Baza attack, bandits on Sunday, November 16, launched a fresh attack on Tsohuwar Tasha village in the Ruwan Doruwa Ward of Maru Local Government of the same state, abducting 14 people, including 11 women and three children. On Monday, November 17, Nigerians received one of the most worrisome reports in recent time about the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State. The terrorists had invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, shooting sporadically with the aim of whisking the schoolgirls to forest. Vice Principal of the school, Malam Hassan Makuku was gunned down by the criminal elements before they abducted the 25 schoolgirls. The same day, terrorists attacked the Kushe Gugbu in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, kidnapping a Catholic Priest, Rev Fr Bobbo Paschal and several others. A brother to one of the priests in the St Stephen Parish, Rev Fr Anthony Yero was murdered by the terrorists during the unprovoked attack. The callous murderers continued the killing spree on Tuesday by launching a deadly attack on the Eruku community, Ekiti Local Government Area Kwara State. Several residents of the community were worshiping at the Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, when the trouble makers invaded the facility, killing three worshippers and abducting at least 30 others including old and children. Meanwhile, at least four vigilantes were killed and four soldiers declared missing on Tuesday after terrorists attacked a military base in Mayenti, a town in the Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. THENEWSCREDIT reports that the attack occurred a day after the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, posted a video of the execution of Samaila Uba, a Nigerian Army brigadier-general. On Wednesday, terrorists launched an ambush on troops heading to rescue kidnapped schoolgirls in Kebbi State, injuring several soldiers. The attack occurred just 24 hours after the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, directed troops of Operation Fasan Yamma to go “all out” against the bandits responsible for abducting students of Government Girls Secondary School, Maga.

Northern women under the umbrella of Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) have condemned the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State. In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed, Larai Ocheja Amusan and Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, the group described the attack as a failure of leadership and another blow to the nation’s conscience. Gunmen had stormed the school in the early hours of Monday, killing the Vice Principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, and abducting 25 students. VIEW said the incident highlights the government’s continued inability to secure schools, noting that despite past tragedies in Chibok, Dapchi and Jangebe, schools across northern Nigeria remain exposed to attacks. Fear grips Nigerians as terrorists go on rampage, target large gatherings “More than a decade after repeated mass abductions, Northern Nigeria is still one of the most dangerous places in the world for a girl seeking an education,” the group said. Many of the signatories were active members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement and have worked with communities affected by insecurity.

President Bola Tinubu says he would do everything to ensure the return of the schoolgirls abducted by bandits in Kebbi State. Tinubu gave this assurance through his Vice, Kashim Stettima on Wednesday during his visit to the state. THENEWSCREDIT reports that Shettima visited Kebbi to commiserate with the government and people of the state a few days after the abduction of the students. The Vice-President, who was accompanied by the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Nentawe Yilwatda, described the incident as unfortunate. According to him, the President’s priority is the safe return of the schoolgirls. Shettima commended security agencies for their sacrifices

Terrorists on Tuesday stormed a branch of the Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in Eruku town, under Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, killing three worshippers and abducting several others, including the pastor. The incident has reportedly sent panic and tears in the community. According to SaharaReporters, the attackers invaded the church during a meeting and immediately opened fire, sending worshippers running for cover. A video of the incident was also shared by the online news outlet. It stated that three members were reportedly shot dead on the spot before the assailants seized an unspecified number of people. “The gunmen came in suddenly and started shooting. Three people were killed instantly,” one source said. “They gathered others at gunpoint and marched them into the bush. We still don’t know the exact number taken.” The attackers reportedly escaped through bush paths that connect Eruku to neighbouring communities, leaving residents in panic and confusion. As of the time of filing this report, there hasn’t been any official reaction from the Kwara State Police Command or the state government about the incident.

Oyo State Government has enlisted the Ogbomoso Cradles Carnival in the lineup of activities for this year’s Faaji December cultural and entertainment festival. The Faaji December program, coordinated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, will run from December 1, 2025, to January 2, 2026. Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum held in Ibadan, the Secretary of the Ogbomoso Cradles Carnival Planning Committee, Mr. Muyiwa Oke, said the carnival’s inclusion in the statewide festive calendar underscores the government’s commitment to strengthening tourism and cultural heritage across all zones.