Nigerian Army Should Accept Help from U.S. Military: Expert
By Onibiyo Segun
Eruku, Kwara State – The attack came without warning. Bullets ripped through the quiet of an evening fellowship at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Eruku, where worshippers had gathered for prayers at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. In seconds, the sanctuary turned into a killing field as gunmen surrounded the church, forcing worshippers to stare into the muzzles of rifles.
Three worshippers were killed, several others abducted, including the pastor, and the border community was thrown into chaos, according to Sahara Reporters.
Community guard leader Musa Ogundele told TruthNigeria, “over 20 attackers stormed the church on motorbikes, communicating in Fulfulde, a signature of Fulani Ethnic Militia cells operating across the Middle Belt.”
TruthNigeria can report exclusively that at least 15 worshippers were taken as hostages.
Community elder Julius Olukoya added, “Eruku has been under siege for months. Our farms are unsafe. Now they entered our church, killed 3 and abducted over 12 worshippers.”
Eruku, the scene of the massacre, is a strategic border town in Ekiti county of Kwara State, sitting along the corridor linking Kogi–Kwara–Ekiti, in North Central (Middle Belt) Nigeria. Its thick forests and porous bush routes long have made it a target for armed groups migrating between zones.
Police Response
The Kwara State Police Command confirmed the attack, saying officers and community guards responded immediately to the gunshots.
Superintendent of Police Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said, “The DPO Eruku and his team, in collaboration with community guards, swiftly responded to the sound of gunshots from the outskirts of town, prompting the hoodlums to flee into the bush.
“A search team found Mr. Aderemi fatally shot inside CAC Oke Isegun, while Mr. Tunde Asaba Ajayi was found dead in the bush. A community guard, Segun Alaja, sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to ECWA Hospital, Eruku.”
A Night of Blood in Eruku
In a possibly related attack earlier the same day, 18th November, panic gripped Okoloke in Yagba West County of Kogi State when a timber supplier from Egbe, popularly known as Baba Timber and his staff member were kidnapped on a farmland.
A worker Temitope who escaped told TruthNigeria, “The terrorists emerged from the bush without a sound. They must have been watching us. They began shooting and everyone fled.”
Security operatives and community guards are now tracking the abductors through bush paths connecting Okoloke–Eruku–Kaiama forest across Kwara and Kogi.
Pattern of Expanding Terror
The Eruku and Okoloke (between Kwara and Kogi states, North Central Nigeria) attacks fit a broader escalation documented by TruthNigeria:
· August 2025: More 200 militia fighters overran Kwara communities, killing at least five and displacing thousands.
· October 2025: Nigerian Army raided Fulani kidnapper camps in Kaiama forest, rescuing 21 hostages, including a CAC pastor.
· November 2025: Renewed militia strikes deepened panic in the Western Middle Belt.
TruthNigeria’s mapping shows a connected terror route threading through Kaiama – Eruku – Okoloke – Egbe, forming a transit corridor for militia movements in Kwara and Kogi.
“This Is Organized Terror”: Experts
Retired Army General Bashir Abdul-Salam told TruthNigeria, “the Eruku attack fits the operational method of Fulani Ethnic Militia units expanding westward. It is a Boko Haram-style operation.
“These terrorists embed inside forest borders and strike Christian-dominated rural belts.
“That failure by the Federal Government to formally designate Fulani Ethnic Militias as a terror group has emboldened their movements.
“Again, the military must seek help. The Federal Government must accept the U.S. offer to help fight these terrorists. It is getting out of control.”
Security analyst Dr. Lilian Adebayo described the attacks as “tactically synchronized,” saying the terrorists test state response times before launching wider offensives.
“They have increased attacks in recent weeks, especially after President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. Our government is chasing politics instead of protecting the people. Total irresponsibility,” said Dr. Lilian Adebayo to TruthNigeria.
The Bigger Picture
From Eruku’s forests to Okoloke’s farmlands, Fulani Ethnic Militia incursions are expanding across the Western Middle Belt. Their targets now include churches, timber routes, farms, and settlement clusters, struck with military-grade discipline.
“Militias are reorganizing along forest transit corridors. Federal security presence is light and reactive. If they overrun the country, it is finished,” Security analyst Chima Eke told TruthNigeria.
General Bashir added that weak regional cooperation between Kwara, Kogi, and Ekiti undermines counter-terrorism efforts. “Government reluctance to designate Fulani Ethnic Militias as a terror group gives these cells room to operate with impunity,” Bashir told TruthNigeria.
A Community’s Defiance
Community guard commander Musa Ogundele issued a warning that reflected the mood across Eruku, Okoloke, and all of Yagba land, “If the government cannot shield our churches and farms, then we will. We will defend, we will patrol, and we will not surrender.”
Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflicts for TruthNigerian.
