Reported By Mary Udezue | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
In a stark escalation of insecurity in central Nigeria, armed bandits abducted a pastor from the Living Faith Church, also known as Winners Chapel, on Saturday, December 27, 2025, in Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State, local sources confirm. The incident has heightened fears among residents already grappling with a series of violent attacks and kidnappings in recent weeks.
Eyewitnesses reported that the clergyman was travelling by motorcycle to his farm along the Okeoffin–Okoro Gbedde axis when the assailants, believed to be bandits, intercepted him. The pastor was reportedly accompanied by a commercial rider. According to testimonies, the commercial rider managed to escape unharmed, but the pastor was seized by the gunmen and taken to an unknown location. As of this writing, his family and church authorities have not received any contact or ransom demands from the kidnappers.
The abduction has stirred widespread anxiety in Okoro Gbedde and neighbouring communities, where residents say banditry and kidnappings have become increasingly frequent. This latest case follows other recent violent incidents in Kogi State, including attacks on worshippers and clergymen in the past month. In a related incident in late November, gunmen stormed a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area, abducting the pastor — locally known as “Orlando” — his wife and several worshippers during a church service, plunging the community into chaos and fear.
Security analysts and local leaders say such attacks are part of a broader trend of violence by loosely organised criminal networks commonly referred to as bandits, who operate across rural and forested areas of northern and central Nigeria. These groups regularly ambush commuters, raid villages, abduct civilians for ransom, and have targeted religious gatherings, exploiting gaps in security coverage and local vulnerabilities.
The Kogi State government has been under intense pressure to respond to mounting security challenges. In response to earlier abductions and church attacks, authorities deployed joint security operations involving police, military personnel and local vigilante groups. Officials have also stepped up aerial and ground surveillance, and launched manhunts to locate both the abducted worshippers and the perpetrators. However, residents report that bandit activities persist, often in areas with limited security presence and challenging terrain.
Local community leaders and civil society groups have condemned the kidnapping of the Living Faith pastor, describing it as a “cowardly assault” on religious freedom and an attack on peaceful civic life. Many residents expressed alarm at the seeming frequency of such incidents in Kogi, a state that straddles both the Middle Belt and northern Nigeria, where banditry has increasingly spilled into previously unaffected zones. They are calling for an urgent and more robust security strategy to safeguard lives and property.
The incident also raises deeper concerns about the safety of clergy and worshippers, who have been repeatedly targeted across multiple states in Nigeria. Beyond Kogi, churches and religious leaders in neighbouring states such as Kwara and Sokoto have faced deadly raids and kidnappings, underscoring a wider pattern of insecurity that has drawn criticism from human rights advocates and religious organisations alike.
Church authorities and the pastor’s family have so far refrained from public statements, pending official communication from the abductors or further developments. Meanwhile, parishioners and community members have organised prayer vigils and called for the immediate and safe return of the clergyman, emphasising the emotional and spiritual toll of his disappearance on the congregation.
Security experts stress that tackling the wave of bandit attacks in central Nigeria will require a blend of strengthened law enforcement, community cooperation, improved intelligence gathering and socio-economic interventions designed to undercut criminal networks’ influence. Analysts also urge greater coordination between federal and state security agencies to prevent further incursions and ensure quicker responses to emerging threats.
As authorities intensify their search efforts, the fate of the Living Faith Church pastor remains uncertain. The abduction not only highlights the immediate dangers facing individuals in rural parts of Nigeria but also reflects broader challenges confronting the nation’s efforts to protect citizens and curb violence ahead of the 2026 and 2027 election cycles, when security and stability are expected to be focal issues for political discourse and policy action.
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