Suspected gunmen who attacked the Christ Apostolic Church in Eda Oniyo, Ekiti State, have demanded a ransom of one billion naira for the release of 15 worshippers abducted during the incident, which also left one person dead.

The Eleda of Eda Oniyo, Oba Joseph Awolola, disclosed this while addressing journalists, noting that the kidnappers had established contact with the community and made their demand known. He appealed to the government to intensify efforts to secure the safe return of the victims.

Meanwhile, traditional rulers from neighbouring communities, including the Elewu of Ewu Ekiti, Oba Bamidele Adeniran, and the Owa of Iludun, Oba Adeniran, have called for a temporary ban on evening worship activities and a comprehensive overhaul of the security architecture in the area.

The monarchs also lamented the absence of security personnel, alleging that it took over an hour for security operatives to respond after the attack.

On their part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Brigadier General Ebenezer Ogundana (retd.), and the Commissioner of Police, Michael Falade, who visited the community for an on-the-spot assessment, assured residents that efforts were ongoing to rescue the abducted victims.

They urged residents to remain vigilant and support security agencies with timely and useful information.

At least 15 persons were kidnapped during the attack on Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Ominira, in Eda Oniyo, Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

Gunmen on Sunday night abducted Mrs. Patience Nasamu, wife of Pastor Samuel Nasamu of the Word of God Church, Agyaragu, and a female church member who was visiting the family, in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Pastor Nasamu, recounting the incident, said his wife, who is nursing a three-month-old baby, was taken alongside the visitor shortly after a church service.

“I had just stepped out to pray for a sick member when my wife called me. All I could hear was her praying; she couldn’t even explain what was happening. By the time I rushed back, both she and our visitor had been abducted, leaving our baby behind,” he said.

According to him, the attackers arrived at about 8:15 p.m., smashing windows and doors with a hammer in an attempt to gain entry. When that failed, they fired gunshots into the air, forcing his wife to open the door before whisking her and the church member away.

He added that no contact has been made by the kidnappers since the abduction, while police officers who visited the scene assured residents that investigations were ongoing.

A resident of Agyaragu, who spoke anonymously, described the spate of kidnappings in the area as “alarming,” and appealed to Governor Abdullahi Sule to take urgent action.

“We live in fear every day, knowing we could be kidnapped or killed if ransom is not paid. Farmers and residents are taken almost daily. Help us tell Governor A. A. Sule that Agyaragu is now at the mercy of kidnappers,” the resident lamented.

The quiet of a family home was shattered this week when Paulina, a young mother of three, was found dead in a hotel room under mysterious circumstances—just hours after reportedly telling her husband that she wanted “a rich man, not you.”

According to family accounts, Paulina slipped out of her home late at night around 10 p.m., leaving her children behind. Her husband, returning home that evening, was unsettled to find the little ones hungry and unattended. He had no idea it would be the last night he would see his wife alive.

By morning, devastating news arrived: Paulina’s lifeless body had been discovered in a guest house.

Police say she had checked in alone, but the exact cause of her death remains unclear.

The tragedy has left neighbours in shock, struggling to reconcile the woman they knew—a mother devoted to her children—with the circumstances surrounding her passing.

Police authorities have begun investigations to determine what led to her death, even as her family and community grapple with unanswered questions.

For her husband and children, the painful reality is not just the loss of a wife and mother, but the haunting memory of her final words.