A wave of terror swept through Isapa in Kwara State’s Ekiti Local Government Area, Nigeria, on Monday as gunmen stormed the community and abducted at least 11 people, including a pregnant woman, 10 children, two nursing mothers and several other residents, according to local accounts and media reports.
SaharaReporters, citing National Pilot, reported that the raid began shortly after 6 p.m. when an estimated 20 to 30 armed men entered the town while moving a herd of cattle and fired repeatedly as families scrambled for safety. Punch also reported that the attackers shot indiscriminately as they advanced through multiple parts of the agrarian settlement, leaving bullet holes in homes and wooden doors.
Seven members of one family were among those taken, a community leader told Punch, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He listed the abducted as Talatu Kabiru; children Magaji, Kande, Hadiza, Mariam and Saima; housewife Habibat; Fatima Yusufu; pregnant woman Sarah Sunday; nursing mother Lami Fidelis; and another nursing mother identified as Haja Na Allah.
“This is the worst attack we’ve experienced. Eleven people vanished into the bush. People are terrified, and we don’t know what comes next,” the community leader said.
Authorities also told Punch that security personnel had begun combing the forests linking Isapa and Eruku, a corridor long vulnerable to bandit activity. An elderly woman was reportedly hit by a stray bullet during the assault.
Attack mirrors worsening pattern in Ekiti LGA
The latest abduction came just one week after 38 worshippers were seized at Christ Apostolic Church Oke Isegun in Eruku, according to SaharaReporters. Three people were killed in that earlier attack before the gunmen marched church members into the forest. All were eventually released, but the incident left deep anxiety in the region.
Punch reported that earlier this month, 18 other residents were kidnapped in Eruku in a separate incident — also followed by a rescue.
Despite the deployment of federal reinforcements after the church attack, a senior security official told Punch that the sheer size of the forested terrain and scattered settlements have made deterrence difficult. “Our men are in the area now to verify the exact number taken and track those responsible,” the official said.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the Kwara State Command, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the police were still reviewing preliminary information and would issue an official update.
Residents fear growing terrorist foothold
The repeated incursions have raised fears that armed groups are attempting to entrench themselves along the boundary communities of Kwara, where dense bush paths connect multiple rural settlements. Local vigilante groups have expanded nighttime patrols, and some religious centers have shortened evening services as a precaution.
Analysts note that the cycle of raids in Ekiti LGA reflects a broader trend across central Nigeria, where loosely networked bandit cells exploit limited security presence, porous forest routes and hostage-for-ransom economies. The attack on Isapa — coming so soon after the mass kidnapping in Eruku — underscores concerns that these groups may be testing communities’ vulnerabilities and increasing the frequency of assaults.
For residents, fear has now replaced routine. “People don’t sleep at night anymore,” another villager told local reporters. “We are afraid these gunmen want to claim this whole area.”
As of Tuesday evening, neither the Kwara State government nor police had released a formal statement on the Isapa abductions, and there was no immediate information on efforts to contact the kidnappers or negotiate the victims’ release.
Sources: Punchng/SaharaReporters/NationalPilot
