Kidnappers Demand Ransom for Corpse in Ekiti, Deepening Fear in Christian Villages

Corpse Ransom Scheme in Nigeria’s Southwest

Kidnappers ‘Weaponize Grief,’ Push the Envelope of Barbarity

By Onibiyo Segun

Ajoni, Ekiti State – Armed gunmen in Ekiti State abducted a Christian woman, raped and killed her, then demanded ₦1.5 million ($1,000),  virgins, drugs, and beer to return the corpse, taking four negotiators hostage.

At about 6:50 p.m. on February 24, 2026, a group of roughly 10 men on motorcycles, armed with AK‑47 rifles and machetes, surrounded Ekamarun, fired into the air and held villagers at gunpoint before seizing the woman. 

Witnesses told Vanguard newspaper that the attackers, dressed in dark clothing, then fled toward the thick forest bordering Kogi State.

Villagers estimated the encounter lasted about 30 minutes. 

Two days later, residents received phone calls demanding ₦1.5 million (about $1,000), virgins, Indian hemp, methamphetamine (“ICE”) and beer before the body would be released for burial.

Local church leaders and families said the demands shocked everyone.

“We don’t deal in hard drugs, and who even asks for virgins?” Deacon Fawoola Stephen of the Anglican church in Ekamarun told TruthNigeria.

Relatives pooled savings, church collections, and livestock to meet the ransom, delivering the items (but not the virgins) along a bush path between Ekamarun and Iyemero just before 3 p.m. on February 26, eyewitnesses told TruthNigeria.

However, when four men, who delivered the ransom left with the items, they were abducted at gunpoint and led into adjacent forest paths. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Community Letter Warns of Looming Genocide

Vanguard newspaper report says a desperate letter was addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Ekiti State Governor Abiodun Oyebanji, leaders of the affected communities warned that another genocide could be imminent unless urgent federal and state intervention occurs. 

The signatories include Abimbola Omotoyinbo and Olubola Adeoye (Itapaji); Tosin Babalola and Chief Kehinde Abejide (Irele); Femi Bodunde (Oke-Ako); Joseph Osanipin (Iyemero); and Bayo Dada (Ipao).

For years, armed groups believed to maintain camps in the vast forests spanning Ekiti, Kwara and Kogi states have launched repeated attacks on these towns.

Security Experts Weigh In

Security analyst Kabiru Adamu, Managing Director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited in Abuja, said the absence of ideological rhetoric in the ransom calls, no black flags, no doctrinal framing, points to criminal kidnapping rather than Islamist insurgency such as Boko Haram or ISWAP.

“Insurgent groups in the northeast frame actions within ideological narratives,” Adamu said. 

“Here we see ransom extraction with extreme brutality but no ideological signature. The demands in this case are bizarre,” Adamu explained.

Criminologist Dr. Olumide Aborisade of Ekiti State University said the bizarre demands reflect psychological domination and coercive control. 

“In Yoruba culture, burial rites are sacred. Withholding a body weaponizes grief and communicates dominance, deterring resistance,” Aborisade said.

National Kidnapping Context – Financial Motive Dominates

Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis has surged as a commercial criminal enterprise rather than an ideological campaign. 

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024, 2,235,954 kidnapping incidents occurred nationwide between May 2023 and April 2024, with households paying an estimated ₦2.23 trillion ($4.85 billion) in ransom.

The survey showed rural areas experienced more kidnappings (1,668,104 cases) than urban areas (567,850), and approximately 65 percent of households paid ransom to secure releases.

A 2025 SBM Intelligence report found 4,722 people abducted in 997 incidents between July 2024 and June 2025, with ransom demands exceeding ₦48 billion ($104.35 million) and at least ₦2.57 billion ($5.59 million) paid.

These figures illustrate that kidnapping for ransom is entrenched, with criminal gangs exploiting economic desperation, weak policing, and unpatrolled areas.

Tactical and Geographic Details

Community leader Chief Adekunle Olugbogi told TruthNigeria the attackers split into two motorcycle teams, executed the kidnapping near dusk, and used forest trails to escape. 

The organized nature of the operation, including phone communication of ransom instructions suggested planning beyond opportunistic banditry.

“The use of motorcycle teams, forest corridors and timed phone calls shows planning,” Chief Olugbogi said.

“These are not random robberies; they are criminal networks exploiting areas with limited security presence.” Olugbogi explained.

Forest belts linking Ekiti, Kogi and Kwara states are known to be exploited by criminal groupshttps://icirnigeria.org/forests-and-bad-roads-turn-kwara-communities-into-danger-zones/ because limited patrols and unpaved roads provide cover from security forces.

Security Response

Sunday Abutu, Police Public Relations Officer for the Ekiti State Command, confirmed the kidnapping and ransom incident in a February 27 phone interview from Ado‑Ekiti.

“The Command is aware of the kidnapping in the Ajoni area. Tactical teams have been deployed, and investigations are ongoing to rescue those abducted and apprehend their captors,” Abutu told TruthNigeria. 

He said the case had been referred to the Force’s State Criminal Investigation Department and urged residents to involve police immediately rather than negotiate privately.

“Independent ransom payments complicate rescue operations,” Abutu concluded.

As of press time, the Ekiti State Command had not published a formal press statement with reference numbers online, but Abutu said updates would be provided once investigations reached verifiable milestones.

The Ekiti State Security Network (Amotekun Corps) has also stepped up patrols. 

In a February 20 press briefing in Ado‑Ekiti, Amotekun Commander Brig. Gen. Joe Komolafe (rtd.) said surveillance had been strengthened along forest corridors and that the corps would collaborate with police, vigilante groups, and communities.

“We are focusing on early warning systems and rapid response teams,” Komolafe said, without directly linking recent arrests to the Ekamarun attack.

Forward Look

As Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis deepens, the Ekiti incident underscores how criminal gangs are innovating tactics to extract wealth and to instil fear. 

Millions of Nigerians experience kidnapping annually, with significant ransom payments sustaining criminal networks and shaping community behavior.

“Strengthened intelligence-driven policing, enhanced forest corridor patrols by joint security forces, and community early-warning systems are being prioritized,” Air Commodore Darlington Abdullahi said. 

But analysts caution that without systemic coordination and investment in rural security infrastructure, communities like Ajoni remain vulnerable.

Officials from the police and Amotekun say they will issue regular updates, including case reference numbers and progress on rescue operations, as investigations progress.

Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflict for TruthNigeria.