Gunmen Murder 5, Kidnap Pastor and 15 Worshippers in Kwara Church
Nigerian Army Should Accept Help from U.S. Military: Expert
By Onibiyo Segun | TruthNigeria | Nov 19, 2025
Eruku, Kwara State – The attack came without warning. Bullets ripped through the quiet of an evening fellowship at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Eruku, where worshippers had gathered for prayers at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. In seconds, the sanctuary turned into a killing field as gunmen surrounded the church, forcing worshippers to stare into the muzzles of rifles.
Three worshippers were killed, several others abducted, including the pastor, and the border community was thrown into chaos, according to Sahara Reporters.
Community guard leader Musa Ogundele told TruthNigeria, “over 20 attackers stormed the church on motorbikes, communicating in Fulfulde, a signature of Fulani Ethnic Militia cells operating across the Middle Belt.”
TruthNigeria can report exclusively that at least 15 worshippers were taken as hostages.
Community elder Julius Olukoya added, “Eruku has been under siege for months. Our farms are unsafe. Now they entered our church, killed 3 and abducted over 12 worshippers.”
Eruku, the scene of the massacre, is a strategic border town in Ekiti county of Kwara State, sitting along the corridor linking Kogi–Kwara–Ekiti, in North Central (Middle Belt) Nigeria. Its thick forests and porous bush routes long have made it a target for armed groups migrating between zones.
Police Response
The Kwara State Police Command confirmed the attack, saying officers and community guards responded immediately to the gunshots.
Superintendent of Police Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said, “The DPO Eruku and his team, in collaboration with community guards, swiftly responded to the sound of gunshots from the outskirts of town, prompting the hoodlums to flee into the bush.
“A search team found Mr. Aderemi fatally shot inside CAC Oke Isegun, while Mr. Tunde Asaba Ajayi was found dead in the bush. A community guard, Segun Alaja, sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to ECWA Hospital, Eruku.”
A Night of Blood in Eruku
In a possibly related attack earlier the same day, 18th November, panic gripped Okoloke in Yagba West County of Kogi State when a timber supplier from Egbe, popularly known as Baba Timber and his staff member were kidnapped on a farmland.
A worker Temitope who escaped told TruthNigeria, “The terrorists emerged from the bush without a sound. They must have been watching us. They began shooting and everyone fled.”
Security operatives and community guards are now tracking the abductors through bush paths connecting Okoloke–Eruku–Kaiama forest across Kwara and Kogi.
Pattern of Expanding Terror
The Eruku and Okoloke (between Kwara and Kogi states, North Central Nigeria) attacks fit a broader escalation documented by TruthNigeria:
· August 2025: More 200 militia fighters overran Kwara communities, killing at least five and displacing thousands.
· October 2025: Nigerian Army raided Fulani kidnapper camps in Kaiama forest, rescuing 21 hostages, including a CAC pastor.
· November 2025: Renewed militia strikes deepened panic in the Western Middle Belt.
TruthNigeria’s mapping shows a connected terror route threading through Kaiama – Eruku – Okoloke – Egbe, forming a transit corridor for militia movements in Kwara and Kogi.
[ … ]