Editor’s note: Reader discretion is advised as some images in this report may be disturbing.
ON Sunday, December 14, 2025, armed men on motorcycles attacked Ayetoro-Kiri community in Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi State. They abducted at least 30 residents, mostly children and elderly worshippers. The attackers stormed homes and churches before fleeing through nearby forests.
Kayode Blessing was on her feet, swaying gently to hymns and clapping along with the congregation, when the first gunshot cracked through their Sunday service at Ayetoro Kiri, Kogi State.
For a moment, she, alongside dozen others, froze, unsure of what she had heard. Then came another. The service faltered as people began to scamper towards the exit of the church.
Blessing was worshipping at the Apostolic Church, just a short distance away. Her little two children aged six, and four, were not with her. They had followed their neighbour’s children to another church – First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in the same village.
By the time she rushed outside, seeking for safety the town was already gripped with panic. She said she saw everyone running towards the mountain and thick forest that surround the village, but she had to look for her children first.
She then proceeded towards the ECWA Church, however, when she reached the path leading there, she saw the rampaging armed terrorists on bikes riding away with many people, including her two children.
Six-year-old Kajoteni and four-years-old Deborah were among dozens of worshippers, mostly children and elderly victims, abducted on Sunday, December 14, 2025, when armed men stormed the Church shortly after the service ended in Ayetoro Kiri community of Kogi State.
When The ICIR approached her and her husband a few days after the incident, she was struggling with many things. The husband Kayode said the mother had refused to eat since the incident happened.
“The help I need now from the government is the safe return of my children. They are very young,” the mother of two said.
Her family was not alone. The attack affected several households in the village. Like Blessing, Alice Daniels was also not at the ECWA Church when the gunmen attacked.
She was at home preparing breakfast for her family when the bandits rode through the forest path into the village. Her house is one of the first near the junction leading to the centre of the community.
Her husband was in the bathroom at the time. Moments after she stepped into the small kitchen behind the main compound, where she was cooking with firewood, she saw the terrorists advancing toward the village. She immediately shouted to her husband and neighbours that “They (terrorists) have come again o! They have come! The terrorists are here!”
But by the time her husband rushed out of the bathroom, the gunmen had already surrounded the entire compound. He tried to escape through the backyard but was caught by the bandits, who dragged him away and placed him on one of their motorcycles. He was among the first victims abducted before the attackers moved on to other houses and then the church, where they seized many more residents.
How Ayetoro-Kiri was invaded after Sunday service
Residents and worshippers said the ECWA Church holds two sessions—Sunday School from 8:30am to 9:30am, followed by the main service from 9:30am to 11:00am. The attack happened immediately after the main service ended.
Survivors and residents told The ICIR that a church member who had stepped outside suddenly ran back after sighting armed men approaching and firing shots into the air. Her warning triggered a frantic attempt to flee, but many children and elderly worshippers were caught unawares in the chaos that followed.
The ICIR gathered that moments later, the attackers stormed Ayetoro First ECWA Church. “They came on about 50 motorcycles. We believe they were up to 100 gunmen, firing sporadically to force residents to scatter,” recalled the town’s head of local security, Olorunmaye Kolawole.
Residents, including the village head, the Adetoro of Ayetoro Kiri, Olusegun Durowaye, said they could not immediately provide an exact figure of those abducted. However, they confirmed that more than 20 worshippers were taken from inside the Church, while about 10 other residents were abducted from their homes as the attackers ransacked the community before retreating into nearby forests.
They also explained that the gunmen moved toward other churches in the area, but news of the attack had already spread. Many worshippers had fled, while some churches shut their doors immediately.
The attackers, who struck shortly after entering the village, reportedly followed a single path leading into the community. They were said to have retreated through the same route, which connects nearby villages such as Agbede, Obajana and Osokosoko, and leads toward Lokoja while also bordering parts of Niger State. They then disappeared into the bush at the far end of the community, an area surrounded by hills and dense vegetation.
At the other end of the village, near the First ECWA Church, several worshippers escaped abduction by fleeing towards the hills and mountains behind the church as soon as they heard gunshots. Others managed to escape into the bush while the attackers were attempting to line people up.
Witnesses said the assailants, who arrived on motorcycles with at least two men on each bike, would seize victims at gunpoint, force them onto the motorcycles between them, and speed off along the same route. Other gunmen moved from house to house, ransacking properties and firing at anyone they found hiding.
During the attack, one resident identified as Adeyemi James, popularly known as Jayjay, was killed while trying to rescue his child.
Shot in the leg, grazed in the abdomen
Twelve-year-old Adeyemi Damola lay on a narrow hospital bed at Victory Clinic, still bearing the gunshot injury inflicted on him. His left leg was tightly bandaged from a gunshot wound, while another injury was visible around his lower chest and abdomen, where he was grazed by a bullet.
Damola was with his father when the attack began. The ICIR gathered that the father and son attempted to flee the area together as gunmen stormed the community. In the process, the boy was first shot in the leg, slowing him down. As they struggled to escape the danger zone, another bullet struck his father, leaving him with a second injury around the abdomen.
However, his father died at the scene while trying to shield him. A female relative who has taken on the role of Damola’s mother said the boy had been in constant pain since the attack and struggles to sleep.
More children abducted
Beyond the injured, the attack left several families grappling with the anguish of children taken away into the forest. It was gathered that children as young as two-years-old were taken by the terrorists.
Olorunsogo Abejide, said his 2-year-old daughter was among those abducted from the church, adding that she had just finished praying when gunshots rang out.
“I was inside when I heard the gunshots and uproar. Everybody, including myself, started running towards the church but before I could even get there, they had already carried my child and placed him in the middle,” he said.
She said the family had received no reassurance from security agencies or government officials.
Similarly, Olusanmi Taiwo was also not at ECWA Church when the gunmen attacked. She was at home, having come back from her own church service and preparing food for the family when she heard gunshots and the uproar that followed it. By the time she reached the church, she said her two-year-old child Tolu had been kidnapped.
“They didn’t stop at the church; they went into people’s houses and took whoever they met. I was safe but when I reached the church my child has been kidnapped,” she said.
Both parents said the scale of the abduction had overwhelmed the community, with many families unable to confirm the whereabouts of their children, days after the attack.
Fear, anxiety grips community
The abductions, they said, have deepened fear in Ayetoro Kiri, forcing many families to flee the village, while those who remain keep vigil to ensure safety of the villagers.
The ICIR reports that the recent attack that led to the abduction of over 30 residents came amid a surge in violent incidents across Aiyetoro land. It was gathered that the Aiyetoro has about 11 communities, of which Aiyetoro-Kiri was one of the most populated ones. Until 2025, the community had over 10,000 inhabitants.
However, series of attacks on the village and the neighbouring towns by armed groups have led to mass exodus of people in the area which also falls under Kogi West Senatorial District.
The Kogi West Senatorial District has reportedly come under sustained attacks, with many communities affected in the last 12 months across Kabba-Bunu, Lokoja, Yagba East and Yagba West LGAs. The district also borders Kwara State, where violence has escalated significantly, including attacks linked to the Mahmuda terrorist faction and other armed groups.
Many houses were seen to have been deserted while only a handful residents were in the village. The ICIR also observed how a number of people were still moving out of the town as of Wednesday, December 17.
The head of the village, Durowaye, explained that the village population has drastically reduced as people are now leaving the area due to persistent violence that only started around March this year.
Findings show that terrorists on March 27 first launched attack on Aiyetoro-Kiri, abducting five who would later spend three and half months in the hands of the bandits. They were only released after the village met up with the huge demand of N50 million by the bandits.
The village head said despite their complaints to the government, the villagers raised the money with no government support and over N20 million was still being owed to the borrowers.
About a month later, Durowaye’s brother was killed in his farm on August 7, by the armed group. The state government condemned the killing, vowing to ensure swift justice and enhance security across the region. However, residents claimed there has been no government or security presence in the area.
Just a few weeks later, on November 26, another resident was killed, and several others were injured when bandits, dislodged in Kwara State, moved into the forests of Kogi and attacked the village. The attacks went on also in neighbouring towns simultaneously.
Broader pattern across Kogi West
The Ayetoro incident is part of a broader pattern of violence that has been directed at churches in Nigeria, including Kogi State in the last couple of months. The ICIR analysis shows that between August and December 2025, at least three major attacks targeted churches across Ofu, Yagba West, and Kabba/Bunu LGAs of Kogi State.
Each incident followed a similar method of armed men invading church premises during or immediately after worship services, abducting congregants, and retreating through forested routes that link several rural communities.
For instance, on November 30, gunmen invaded a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West, abducting a cleric and several worshippers. Also on December 7, gunmen reportedly killed Moses Wada, an assistant pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Anyigba, and abducted the church’s presiding pastor, his wife, and several others along the Enugu–Kogi highway.
The attack occurred on Saturday, December 7, 2025, as the church delegation was returning to Anyigba after attending a programme in Nsukka, Enugu State.
Earlier, on August 26, two members of the Christian Evangelical Fellowship of Nigeria (CEFN) Church in Ofu LGA were also taken after a church service. Both clergies were travelling on a motorcycle when they ran into the kidnappers along Ajegwu-Ojodu road in Ofu LGA of Kogi State.
Meanwhile, the Aiyetoro-Kiri village head, Durowaye, alleged that the past attacks on the village and latest abduction of worshippers are perpetrated by Fulfulde speaking assailants, who he said are targeting Christians.
“The moment they entered the community; they started shooting sporadically. They first invaded the first ECWA Church where children and adults were abducted. Not less than 30 people are still in custody of these people.
“This man here (pointing to the man) is an evangelist, Cherubim and Seraphim. He narrowly escaped after they entered his church and sat down comfortably. So, if anybody is telling me that this is not genocide against Christians, i don’t know where you are getting your story from,” he said.
Data shows deepening crisis
The Ayetoro-Kiri tragedy fits into a larger, increasingly trend of worsening insecurity across the Northcentral region of the country, particularly Kogi and Kwara States.
A review of conflict incident data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) shows that between January and December 15, 2025, Kogi State recorded at least 150 fatalities and 365 abductions linked to armed violence.
These figures show a troubling expansion of attacks, particularly in the state’s western axis where church assaults have been reported.
The data highlights Yagba West (55 deaths), Lokoja (37), and Kabba (18) as the three deadliest local government areas in 2025, together accounting for more than two-thirds of all reported killings statewide.
These LGAs, alongside Yagba East, which recorded 11 deaths, form the centre of Kogi West Senatorial District, the same region that has witnessed a series of coordinated raids in recent months.
On abduction, Lokoja tops with 100 recorded kidnappings, followed by Dekina (60), Ofu (50), and Kabba (45). Residents who spoke with The ICIR mentioned that both death and abduction rate in the region are way beyond what’s in the media.
The ICIR gathered that the attacks frequently occur in areas connected by forest corridors that cut across Kogi West and into parts of Kwara, and Niger, providing mobility for armed groups and often complicating rescue or pursuit operations.
The recent concentration of abductions and killings in Kogi West suggests the region has become a transit and operations zone for multiple violent actors, some displaced by military pressure in the northwest, others motivated by ransom economies and the plan to expand territories.
Residents blame government of neglect
Across Ayetoro-Kiri, villagers told The ICIR that their repeated appeals for help have yielded little more than promises. Since the March attack that claimed five residents and led to the abduction of several others, they said, no lasting security measures have been implemented.
“You can see the condition of the room. There is no government presence here. What can you even construe? Absolutely nothing — no light, no road, everything. So, we have resigned to God,” Durowaye said.
He recounted how the violence that has now defined Ayetoro-Kiri began on March 27, 2025, when gunmen first invaded the community and abducted five residents.
He added that the attackers have continued to strike with impunity, while residents shoulder the full cost of ransom and defence.
“Since March, we have been battling this alone. The government has not helped us. We have resigned to our fate,” he said.
Before the attacks began, Durowaye said, Ayetoro-Kiri was one of the largest and most peaceful communities in the region.
Many residents echoed this sentiment, describing a cycle of government neglect, including bad roads and lack of basic amenities in the town.
Residents said the absence of patrols or checkpoints has emboldened the attackers, who now move freely across farms and attack them.
They faulted the state government for failing to establish permanent security posts in violence-prone areas, despite repeated incidents.
Displaced families and those of victims of the abduction from Kabba-Bunu, told The ICIR that they have received no relief materials or welfare support days after losing their homes and livelihoods.
Overwhelmed local operative
Olufemi Moses, 45, one of the commanders of the vigilante group in Aiyetoro-Kiri knows all too well the danger his community faces, especially in recent months.
He was sitting alongside friends not too far when the bandits stormed the village on that Sunday morning and started shooting. Moses said he ran home the moment he saw them riding into the village to grab my rifle.
By that time, the attackers had moved towards his house, closing in and firing as he tried to arm himself. A bullet struck the lower part of his back. Moses explained that he was also able to gundown the ones that attacked him before he was chased by several others.
Using the hill behind his house for cover, he scrambled into the rough terrain and climbed over the mountain. “Only God kept me alive,” he said, describing the desperate climb and the moments when he thought his life might end.
The community vigilante said they often confront attackers armed with limited resources such as revolvers, shotguns, muzzle-loaded rifles, and homemade weapons, far less sophisticated than the firearms used by terrorist
To make up for this disadvantage, they are said to rely on charms and oftentimes they have been killed while trying to repel raids.
In Nigeria, the Firearms Act makes it illegal to possess or use heavy weapons, such as artillery, rockets, bombs, machine guns, and military-grade rifles, without a licence from the president. For personal firearms like shotguns, sporting rifles, and airguns, licences can be issued by the Inspector-General of Police. However, older muzzle-loading guns often used by local vigilantes, generally do not require a licence unless a state police authority specifically prohibits them.
“Almost all the vigilantes have left. The few numbers remaining—if they have to face these people—were nearly overpowered. It was only God that saved them,” the village head said.
“See what they were fighting with (pointing to the local gun) against somebody that came with an AK-47, standing gun. They only have guns and if you even shoot it at times, it can even hook. One even shot his own gun, the thing broke into two. So this is the kind of experience we have as a community.”
Kidnapped victims beg for help
In a video circulating on social media, several of the kidnapped victims are seen pleading for government intervention to secure their release. The footage shows about ten children and five elderly women—two of whom lean on walking sticks and several others begging for government intervention.
The abductors appear to have recorded the video as a way to draw the government’s attention to their demands, of which residents and local residents said haven’t shown since the incident happened.
Residents who have seen the clip told The ICIR that, despite the growing public outcry, no government officials have visited the community or made any visible effort toward securing the victims’ freedom since the attack.
Although the community head said the local government chairman, Zacchaeus Dare Michael, held meeting with people of his town in Kabba, not much development has been recorded.
Family members of the abducted victims told The ICIR that the video was shared with some community members through WhatsApp groups and later spread widely on Facebook and X. In the short clip, some of the children could be seen crying, while the elderly women appeared exhausted and frightened. All of them, speaking in Yoruba, begged the government and public to come to their rescue.
Terrorists demand over N600 million ransom
Further findings revealed that the terror group has contacted leaders of the Aiyetoro-Kiri community, demanding ₦20 million ransom per victim. With more than 30 people abducted, the kidnappers are now asking for over ₦600 million in total for their release.
According to community sources, the captors first reached out to the village head two days after the abduction, initially demanding ₦100 million for all the victims. However, in a follow-up call on Tuesday, the kidnappers revised their conditions, insisting that they must now pay N20 million per person.
The demand has thrown the small farming community into deeper distress, as most residents said they cannot afford even a fraction of the ransom.
Sources told The ICIR that the kidnappers have also issued threats to begin harming the hostages if payments are not made soon.
Force mobilisation, eight days after attack
Contrary to the Kogi State Government’s account, residents of Ayetoro-Kiri have raised serious questions about the accuracy of the official narrative.
Community sources told The ICIR that no police or military personnel were present in the village for several days following the attack, contradicting claims of an immediate security deployment.
Speaking on News Central Television on Monday, December 15, a day after the incident, Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, said troops from the 12 Brigade of the Nigerian Army and personnel of the Kogi State Police Command had already been deployed to the community.
Residents, however, reported that only a few mobile police officers from a neighbouring town appeared hours after the attack and left shortly thereafter. Independent findings by The ICIR confirmed that there was no security presence in the village or surrounding areas. Aside from a few checkpoints manned by local vigilantes, the roads leading into the town were free of police, military, or SSS personnel, contradicting government statements.
The village head later confirmed that the military only arrived in Ayetoro-Kiri eight days after the attack.
Further efforts to speak with Kabba/Bunu LGA chairman Zacchaeus Dare Michael, proved abortive as he failed to grant an interview. The ICIR had first called him on Monday December 15, but he failed to respond. When he eventually did on Tuesday December 16, he told this reporter that he would only grant a physical interview, of which the reporter obliged.
However, he failed to respond to subsequent text message and call seeking for details of the meeting.
Update: The report was edited to remove the number of people left in the village.
Read the ICIR Terror Series HERE
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