High Stakes Abductions Mean Insurgents Raising ‘War Funds’– Expert
By Onibiyo Segun
Ejiba, Kogi State, Nigeria – Fulani Ethnic Militia terrorists holding worshippers abducted from a Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church in Ejiba have issued a chilling 48-hour ultimatum demanding ₦500 million – about $270,000 – warning that “something else will happen” if the ransom is not paid. The threat has plunged Yagba West communities into fear, anguish, and a desperate race against time.
Armed men stormed the church on 30 November 2025, disrupting a Sunday service and abducting several worshippers, including a pastor, a three-week-old baby, and a four-month-old infant. A family member confirmed that the terrorists called again on December 10, repeating their ransom demand and issuing a strict two-day deadline.
Since the attack, residents say the Kogi State Government under Governor Usman Ododo has made no clear public statement addressing the growing tension or offering updates on rescue operations. Local families describe the silence as “agonizing,” especially as the bandits’ threats intensify.
A widely circulated video on social media shows relatives of the presiding pastor crying for help, kneeling on bare ground as they plead with Gov. Ododo to intervene immediately. The family says the abducted pastor is in deteriorating condition, and they fear the infants abducted with him may not survive prolonged exposure in the
Government Response
Kogi’s Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, said security forces were “working underground to secure the victims alive.” He urged residents to remain calm and trust government efforts, insisting that broadcasting ongoing operations would endanger lives.
A senior military officer in Lokoja, Major Subu Ahmed, confirmed that troops have intensified search operations across forest corridors linking Kogi, Kwara, and Niger states.
“We have deployed surveillance assets. The terrain is tough, but rescue, not ransom, is our mandate,” Major Ahmed told TruthNigeria via telephone.
Community Guards Cite Drone, Raise Alarm
Local vigilante commander Gbemisola Opeoluwa told TruthNigeria that the attackers used a drone to survey the church days before the attack, a disturbing sign of increasing terrorist sophistication and intelligence.
Judd Saul, Human rights advocate and head of Equipping the Persecuted, warned in a trending online video that the church attack reflects a growing pattern of intelligence-driven rural terrorism. He cautioned that terrorists are planning coordinated assaults on churches during Christmas and urged both the Nigerian and U.S. governments to act swiftly.
Abuja-based security analyst Dr. Timilehin Ojo told TruthNigeria that “the coordinated church attack signals a shift toward high-pressure, high-ransom hostage raids, targeting unprotected rural congregations.”
Lagos-based defence policy researcher Dr. Habeeb Olasehinde warned that “terrorists interpret government silence as tacit approval. When ransom demands keep rising, it means terrorists are raising war funds. It is a strategy that will ultimately haunt and hurt the country. Without deterrence, we will see an explosion of attacks in 2026.”
Public affairs analyst Dr. Samuel Adekunle told TruthNigeria that the long-term consequences of escalating Christian-targeted abductions could be catastrophic.
“The long-term impact of these abductions will be to impoverish all churches in the state and to pauperize the worshippers,” he said.
He explained further that “once ransom payments become routine, congregations lose their financial backbone, churches divert all resources to survival, and poorer members slip deeper into debt and displacement.”
Dr. Adekunle questioned the broader implications: “Will these Christians eventually relocate to safer regions? Will these villages become mono-religious by force? If Christians keep fleeing and only Muslims remain, then we must confront a hard question: is this the slow, mounting face of Islamization?”
Defence analyst Colonel Musa Abdullahi (rtd.) told TruthNigeria that “while the pattern of attacks overwhelmingly targets Christian symbols and congregations, the terrorists’ core motive is not theological.
“Their primary objective is territorial dominance, taxation of fear, and economic control not doctrinal Islamization.
“But indirectly, the outcome can mimic religious cleansing. When Christian communities flee and only groups aligned with the terrorists feel safe, the demographic shift becomes real,” he said.
“The government must publicly acknowledge these fears and act decisively before displacement becomes irreversible,” Musa went on to say.
Growing Desperation as Deadline Nears
Families say they cannot raise anything close to ₦500 million.
Ruth Adebayo, a relative of one of the abducted women, told TruthNigeria: “We don’t have money. Where do they expect us to raise ₦500m? Where?” she sobbed.
The fear deepens as the deadline ticks closer, with the abductors threatening “consequences” if the ransom is not met.
Ejiba sits in anguished suspense, praying that the government will intervene before the bandits carry out their threat and hoping the two infants, their pastor, and the other abducted worshippers survive the ordeal.
Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflicts for TruthNigeria.
