The Kogi State Government has confirmed the early morning attack on a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area of the state, which occurred on Sunday.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, who confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Sunday in Lokoja, strongly condemned the attack.
DAILY POST reports that the gunmen who carried out the assault on the church allegedly whisked away the pastor, his wife and some other worshippers.
The incident has thrown the Ejiba community into chaos, with residents running helter-skelter in search of safe places to hide.
Fanwo, who described the incident as very sad and unfortunate, assured that all the victims would be rescued.
“Those who struck at Ejiba must have been hiding in the community for some days or in bushes around the village.
“Some villagers would have seen them and kept quiet. If you refuse to raise alarms when you see strange faces at a time like this, who knows who will be victims of their madness?
“Worshipping in the bush without security in this era, just a few weeks after worshippers were abducted from a church in Kwara State, to me is not ideal.
“We all need to be security conscious at this time. We also need to volunteer intelligence,” he advised.
The commissioner said that the state government and the Yagba West Local Government Area have been working hard to combat criminality in the area, given its status as a border LGA.
According to him, Ejiba has had its fair share of such criminal activities, yet some pastors still encourage their members to worship in churches located in the bush at a time like this, without adequate consideration for security.
“It’s easy to blame the government, but those suffering in the hands of these incurable irredentists are our people. So why won’t we subscribe to wisdom?
“When you see something, say something. Avoid going to unsecured churches and mosques now.
“Avoid absolutely unnecessary journeys at this time. Any journey along the danger zones should be avoided. Do not disclose your movement to anyone again,” he said.
Fanwo said that the state government, in collaboration with security operatives, has taken drastic measures to rescue the kidnapped victims.
