GUNMEN attacked a church in central Nigeria on Tuesday evening, killing at least two people and abducting the pastor along with several worshippers, authorities confirmed Wednesday, compounding a security crisis that has placed President Bola Tinubu’s government under intense domestic and international pressure.
The assault on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, occurred just days after armed bandits stormed a boarding school in northwestern Kebbi State, killing the vice principal and kidnapping 25 schoolgirls in a pre-dawn raid on Monday.
The twin attacks have drawn sharp scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened military action over what he characterises as persecution of Christians in Africa’s most populous nation.
Police responded to reports of gunfire at approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday and discovered one victim fatally shot inside the church and another in a nearby bush, according to Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, police spokesperson for Kwara State. Witnesses reported counting at least three dead church members.
“They later rounded up some worshippers, including the pastor, and took them into the bush,” parishioner Joseph Bitrus told Reuters, though the exact number of abductees remains unclear.
A video verified by Reuters captured the moment armed men burst into the ongoing service, forcing congregants to take cover as gunshots rang out. The footage shows attackers seizing worshippers’ belongings as the violence unfolded.
Presidential Response and Security Deployment
The escalating crisis prompted President Tinubu to postpone planned trips to South Africa and Angola for the G20 and African Union-European Union summits. His office announced he would instead receive security briefings on both attacks and has ordered enhanced security operations to hunt down the assailants.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu directed security agencies “to do everything possible” to rescue the kidnapped schoolgirls and “bring the girls back home safe.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima was scheduled to travel to Kebbi State on Wednesday to meet with officials and parents of the abducted students. The governor of Kwara has requested the immediate deployment of additional security operatives following the church attack.
The Monday attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, saw heavily armed bandits scale perimeter fences at approximately 4 a.m. Vice Principal Malam Hassan Yakubu Makuku was shot dead while attempting to protect students, and staff member Ali Shehu sustained gunshot injuries.
Despite police tactical units being deployed at the school and engaging attackers in a firefight, the bandits abducted 25 students before security forces could mount an effective response. The girls remain missing.
Troubling questions have emerged about whether the school attack was preventable. Community leaders revealed that intelligence about the impending raid existed, and Governor Nasir Idris had instructed soldiers at a nearby checkpoint to mobilise to the school. They arrived but departed around midnight — the bandits struck shortly after.
The attacks have intensified international attention on Nigeria’s sprawling security challenges. Speaking at the U.S. mission to the United Nations on Tuesday, rapper Nicki Minaj appealed for global action to defend religious freedom, stating that in Nigeria, “Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed.”
The Nigerian government has pushed back against the U.S. designation of Nigeria as “a country of particular concern,” arguing it misrepresents the nation’s complex security landscape and overlooks efforts to safeguard religious freedom for all citizens.
A Nation Under Siege
Nigeria faces multiple simultaneous security threats: an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, mass abductions and killings by armed gangs primarily in the northwest, and deadly clashes between predominantly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers in the central belt.
The Kebbi school abduction represents part of a devastating pattern. Since the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping that sparked global outrage, over 1,680 students have been abducted across Nigeria, with more than 180 children killed in attacks on schools.
The latest incidents come just eight days after Nigerian troops celebrated rescuing 86 kidnapped victims from Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in Borno State — a stark illustration of the relentless cycle of military victories followed by renewed attacks that has characterised Nigeria’s decade-long struggle against terror and criminality.
Authorities continue searching for both the abducted schoolgirls and the kidnapped church members as families await news of their loved ones.
