Families confirm the victims, including a pastor’s wife, did not survive months in forest hideouts controlled by Fulani militia.
By Onibiyo Segun
ORO AGO, Kwara State, Nigeria—Five Christians abducted from the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Omugo village during a March 22 Sunday service reportedly died in captivity, relatives and sources told TruthNigeria.
Among the deceased is the wife of Pastor Timothy Omole, who led the service when armed men stormed the church and forced worshippers into nearby forests.
Mr. Michael Olatunde, a source who spoke to TruthNigeria, said relatives had been informed.
“It is with deep pain in my heart that I inform you that out of eight people abducted from ECWA Omugo, only three are still with the kidnappers.”
“The remaining five have gone to be with the Lord,” Olatunde added.
National media identified the deceased as Elder David Omopariola, Chief Joseph Ibitoye Afariogun, Mrs. Iyabo Aniyi, Elder Joshua Akanbi Adeyemi, and Mrs. Rachel Oluwaremilekun Omole.
Kidnapping During Worship
Armed kidnappers stormed the church during Sunday service, firing into the air to disperse worshippers and force them into nearby forests.
Three captives later escaped, leaving five in captivity.
Omugo, a predominantly Christian farming village, lies along forest corridors connecting Kwara, Kogi, and Niger states – routes increasingly used by kidnappers across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
Analysts told TruthNigeria that the attack was ransom-driven rather than ideologically motivated.
Observers familiar with kidnapping patterns along the Kwara–Kogi–Niger corridors told TruthNigeria that armed Fulani criminal networks and ethnic militias have historically carried out similar abductions targeting rural communities, churches, schools, and highways.
“It’s common here that Fulani militia terrorists raid communities,” said Elder Joshua Adebayo, a church member who escaped.
“Some of our elderly members could not run fast enough. The Fulani militia terrorists took them into the forest,” he explained.
Fear Across the Region
Chief Samuel Adebisi, a community leader in Oro Ago, described a sense of helplessness among residents: “The terrorists have a field day while the government only makes promises that are never delivered.”
Adebisi added: “Weeks pass, and innocent people continue to die or remain in captivity, yet no help comes.”
Adebisi called for stronger security along rural routes and forest corridors frequently used by Fulani militia terrorist groups.
Families Say Ransom Was Paid
Families told TruthNigeria that kidnappers initially demanded ₦1 billion (around $630,000), later reduced to ₦20 million ($12,600) plus food and supplies delivered through intermediaries. Despite payments, victims were not released.
“We sold property, borrowed money, and begged people for help,” said Sarah Folorunso, a relative of one abducted worshipper.
“Families carried the burden alone while our loved ones remained in captivity.” Folorunsho told TruthNigeria.
Church Leaders Mourn / Religious Freedom Context
Rev. David Ayeni, ECWA Chairman for Kwara State, described the reports as devastating: “These were worshippers gathered for Sunday service.”
Ayeni explained: “the church continues to pray for affected families and calls on security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue anyone who may still be alive.”
Ayeni highlighted the persistent targeting of Christian communities in Kwara, Kogi, and Niger states – consistent with concerns raised in a May 2026 US report on Fulani militias’ impact on religious freedom.
Security Experts Criticize Government Approach
Abuja-based analyst Kabiru Adamu of Beacon Consulting told TruthNigeria: “The Omugo case exemplifies systemic failures. Families negotiate alone, raise funds, and take risks while government agencies provide limited support.”
Retired Colonel Sunny Ajoh, a counterterrorism expert, added: “Authorities focus on individual incidents without dismantling the criminal infrastructure behind repeated abductions.”
Communities are attacked, families negotiate ransom, gangs are identified, and the cycle continues.
Ajoh added: “Military operations must target the full kidnapping economy – forest sanctuaries, weapons suppliers, and cross-state networks.”
Ajoh emphasized: “Nothing will change until citizens realize the government has never stood with them – it has always been against them.”
Ajoh’s comments reflect growing frustration among security experts and residents who say government responses have been slow and inconsistent.
As Fulani militia terrorists ravage towns, churches, schools, and villages, leadership hides behind empty words, failing to protect citizens and concealing the truth from the world.
“Only when people accept this reality will they rise to defend their own society; no one is coming to save them.” Ajoh concluded.
Kabiru Adamu added: “An epidemic of slaughter, displacement of Christian communities, and kidnappings for ransom by Fulani militia terrorists has become the grim norm.”
Adamu leveled criticism at the government for the security failures.
“The federal government asks only for prayers – collecting salaries while doing nothing,” Adamu said.
Adamu noted, “Citizens are left to confront terrorists on their own while the government pursues re-election.”
Analysts: Fulani Terrorists Expanding Operations
Analysts note that Fulani terrorists fleeing military pressure in Nigeria’s Northwest have joined other criminal networks to occupy forests across the North-Central region.
Air Commodore Darlington Abdullahi, a disarmament expert based in Abuja, told TruthNigeria: “These Fulani militia terrorist groups now conduct ransom-driven kidnappings in Kwara, Kogi, and Niger states, extending into the Southwest.”
Reporting on the abduction of pupils and teachers from a school in Oyo State underscores this expanding pattern of criminal-terrorist collaboration.
Regional and Global Implications
Kwara State sits at a strategic junction between Southwest and North-Central Nigeria, forming corridors linking forests in Kogi and Niger states.
Analysts told TruthNigeria these routes now serve kidnappers moving victims, weapons, and ransom across states.
According to the Nigeria Terror Tracker, attacks increasingly cluster along corridors linking Kwara, Kogi, Niger, and neighboring states, with ransom funding weapons, motorcycles, fuel, and communications.
Rev. Ayeni stressed: “The protection of Christian communities and regional stability should be a top priority of the federal government.”
Unfortunately, the government won’t even acknowledge Christians are being killed all over North-Central Nigeria, with little media coverage.
For residents of Omugo, the crisis is measured in empty pews and worshippers who left home one Sunday and never returned.
Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflict for TruthNigeria.
