BARELY a day after the abduction of schoolchildren in Kebbi State, residents and worshippers in Eruku town, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, were thrown into panic as armed bandits attacked a local Church.
In a live-stream video seen by The ICIR, the worshippers, including children and elderly persons, were singing and waving their hands in devotion when sporadic gunshots rented the air across the premises.
The congregation, led by three young men, ran toward what appeared to be an exit to seek safety, but that would not save them from the ravaging bandits who had apparently surrounded the building.
About five bandits descended on those still in the Church, beat some worshippers and continued shot indiscriminately, sending the community into unspeakable terror.
In the aftermath of the incident, at least two people were confirmed dead by the Kwara State police command in a statement on Tuesday, November 18. The command confirmed that the attack, which occurred around 6 p.m., led to the death of one Aderemi, and Tunde Asaba Ajayi, a vigilante.
However, several people were abducted, including the pastor, while others escaped with injuries.
A troubling pattern
The ICIR reports that the attack is part of a troubling pattern in Kwara State. While there have been moments when the violence seemed to be slowing, each time it appeared under control, another wave of attacks struck, spreading fear among residents and disrupting daily life.
Between September and October, the police and state government frequently reported neutralising the bandits and overtaking of their camps in various parts of the state. These operations, according to officials, were part of ongoing efforts to curb banditry and restore security to communities that have been repeatedly attacked.
Despite these claims, residents said attacks on their communities continued, with many now displaced or in bandits’ captivity.
207 people killed in 10 months
Between January 1 and November 7, 2025, at least 207 people were reportedly killed in the state, including 84 civilians.
During the same period, 177 individuals were abducted, with the highest number of victims in Ifelodun, Pategi, Kaima, Irepodun and Osin LGAs.
The data sourced from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which tracks violent incidents across Nigeria, including attacks by bandits, herders, and other non-state armed groups exploiting ungoverned areas, showed that on average, this translates to roughly two death every three days in the state.
Out of the 207 killed, 84 were civilians, while 123 deaths were linked to state or non-state actors.
The ACLED’s dataset distinguishes civilian-targeted deaths but does not clarify whether state or non-state actors were involved in other fatalities unless noted in the “notes” column.
The ICIR could not independently verify whether the 82 individuals killed were security operatives, including local vigilantes, or bandits killed during gun duels.
What we could confirm is the multiple deaths of vigilantes in some of these Kwara communities since January. For instance in September 2025, the terrorists killed over 15 vigilantes and hunters after invading Oke-Ode community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state. The armed men abducted an unspecified number of residents during the attack.
In another instance, in April 2025, armed terrorists attacked a vigilante group in Kemanji, Kaiama local government area of the state, killing over 15 members and villagers.
The majority of fatalities were concentrated in four LGAs with Ifelodun recording the highest deaths of 93 fatalities, nearly half of the state’s total. This included 22 civilian-targeted and 71 deaths associated with state or non-state actors.
Pategi followed with 26 fatalities, including 16 civilians. Kaiama and Baruten also recorded high numbers. Together, the four LGAs account for 164 out of 207 deaths (79.23 per cent), showing that most attacks are geographically concentrated in that area.
Some of these LGAs either border Kogi or Niger states or are in close proximity to them, making them accessible to armed groups operating from or moving through neighboring LGAs that directly border Kogi or Niger, states that have experienced insecurity in past years.
For instance, while Ifelodun does not directly border Kogi or Niger, it is close to both, particularly Kogi, located in central-east Kwara. Its high levels of violence, despite not being a frontier LGA, suggest that armed bandits may be operating from or moving through neighboring LGAs that border Kogi or Niger.
For Patigi, the LGA directly borders Niger State to the North (separated by the Niger River) and Kogi to the East (separated by the Niger River). The Niger River, rather than being a barrier, is a major avenue for movement. This makes it highly susceptible to inter-state conflict spillovers, including banditry, resource conflicts, and the movement of armed groups.
Other LGAs, include Irepodun (12) , Osin (12), Edu (11) and Oke-ero (3). Ekiti and Asa recorded zero fatalities during this period.
The same period saw 177 individuals kidnapped across Kwara State, with the largest numbers in Ifelodun (42), Pategi (38), Edu (33), Osin (31) and Irepodun (12).
Others are Ekiti (11), Kaiama (4), Baruten (3) and Oke-Ero (3).
Findings by The ICIR also showed that abductions are often linked to armed bandits or herders exploiting the locations. Families frequently pay ransoms, while many residents continue to live in fear of being targeted.
Things getting worse?
Kwara State’s insecurity has worsened steadily over the past few years. Violent incidents were relatively low until 2021, when 84 attacks resulted in 45 deaths.
Earlier this year, The ICIR reported how the state recorded at least 60 incidents that led to 19 deaths in 2024. Experts and residents said many attacks went unreported.
Residents also attributed this to bandit groups fleeing military pressure in the North-West, who are now continuing their activities such as kidnapping for ransom and cattle rustling. The ICIR reports that over the past years, banditry has spread extensively across the North-Western states of Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto.
In response, the Nigerian government intensified military operations to combat these armed groups, pushing many southward into Niger, Kogi, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). But the violence expanding into the North-Central region, led to Kwara State feeling its effects, with the armed groups exploiting ungoverned spaces in the remote areas of the state.
Since the beginning of 2024, the state has recorded numerous incidents of attacks, kidnappings, and other violent crimes. For instance, in September, gunmen killed 10 people, including a pregnant woman, in Matogu village, Pategi Local Government Area of Kwara State.
These attacks have led to several communities in Ekiti, Asa, Moro, and Kaiama LGAs raising repeated concerns over increasing bandit movement through forest corridors linking Kwara to Kogi, Ekiti, and Niger states.
Meanwhile, a 2022 SBM Intelligence report highlighted an alarming rise in kidnappings, gang violence, inter-communal conflicts, targeted killings, and cattle rustling. The report noted that Fulani militants and herder-resident conflicts were often blamed for escalating violence.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M