Bandits Rampage Across Kogi, Kano, Sokoto, Kwara

Bandits have launched fresh attacks across four Nigerian states, abducting worshippers, a monarch, a bride and her bridal party, and other residents, while killing at least one woman and demanding huge ransoms. The coordinated wave of violence in Kogi, Kano, Sokoto and Kwara has renewed public anger over worsening insecurity and perceived gaps in government response.​

In Kogi State, gunmen stormed a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area, during a service, firing shots and forcing worshippers to flee in panic. The pastor, known as Orlando, his wife and several congregants were taken away, though the exact number of abducted persons remains unclear.​

Kogi’s Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, said state authorities and security agencies had intensified a manhunt for the attackers and promised that all abducted worshippers would be rescued alive. He urged residents to remain security conscious, report suspicious movements and, for now, reconsider holding services in isolated, high-risk locations.​

In Kano State, bandits attacked Yankamaye village in Tsanyawa Local Government Area on Saturday night, killing an elderly woman and kidnapping three other women. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, reacting to the incident, called on security agencies to step up operations and “take the fight” to criminal gangs crossing into Kano from neighbouring states.​

Residents said the latest Kano assault came just days after a similar attack in nearby Biresawa village, deepening fear in rural communities. Barau warned that the incursion must stop immediately and insisted that the protection of lives and property remains paramount for the government.​

In Sokoto State, bandits invaded Chacho village in Wurno Local Government Area on the eve of a wedding and abducted the bride, her bridesmaids and several guests. Witnesses said the attackers struck around midnight, shooting into the air as women, children and the elderly ran into nearby bushes to escape.​

Chacho, the hometown of Sokoto’s Commissioner for Special Duties, has suffered repeated threats, and locals say they are now traumatised by the latest raid. Residents had hoped that ransom payments for earlier victims in Rabah would calm the situation, but the new abductions have instead deepened anxiety as the bandits are yet to contact families with demands.​

In Kwara State, the bandits who kidnapped the Ojibara of Bayagan in Ifelodun Local Government Area, Alhaji Kamilu Salami, from his farm have demanded N150 million ransom. The monarch, speaking to his community under duress, begged them to negotiate for his quick release and revealed he was taken deep into the forest for hours on a motorcycle, alongside other abducted victims from neighbouring areas.​

The kidnapping of six directors from the Federal Ministry of Defence three weeks ago on the Kabba–Lokoja highway also remains unresolved, with two of the officials still in captivity. The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has demanded faster action from security agencies and renewed its call for decentralised promotion exams to reduce risky long-distance travel by civil servants.​

Labour leaders said four of the kidnapped directors have been rescued and are undergoing medical checks, while families of the remaining two are in anguish. They warned that persistent attacks on public workers on official duty show how brazen criminal gangs have become along key highways.​

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, assessing the broader security climate, urged the federal government to introduce structured security education in Nigerian schools. He argued that security should be taught as a formal discipline so children learn early how to recognise threats, respond to danger and understand the wider impact of insecurity on society.​

Soyinka warned that constant fear is damaging young learners, undermining creativity and weakening national development. He insisted that security is not the sole duty of law enforcement agencies and called for a curriculum that mixes theory with practical safety drills and emergency response training.​

Cleric and politician Pastor Tunde Bakare also challenged President Bola Tinubu to confront insecurity head-on and reform the country’s security architecture. In a state of the nation address, he cautioned the president against being distracted by 2027 politics and urged a holistic restructuring of governance and security systems to address what he called “the Nigeria question.”​

Bakare said Nigeria is in the middle of a growing storm, with terrorists and bandits openly daring the state and exposing long-standing North–South political and economic tensions. He argued that the failure to resolve farmer–herder conflicts has allowed local disputes to evolve into a more organised and entrenched terror network, especially in the Middle Belt.​

He accused government of “playing the ostrich” by downplaying clear terrorist attacks as mere farmer–herder clashes and insisted that armed camps in ungoverned spaces must be dismantled. According to him, it is a “shame” that affected communities feel compelled to appeal to foreign powers for help because they no longer trust their own government to protect them.​

France-based forensic consultant Dr Yusuf Aliu separately warned that delays in implementing Tinubu’s directive to form a high-level team for new security cooperation with the United States could prove dangerous. He described the situation as a national emergency, saying violence is spreading faster than the state’s current capacity to respond.​

Aliu identified intelligence failure as a core weakness, noting that suspicious movements often precede attacks but are not adequately tracked. He said US support with satellite imagery, signals interception, long-endurance drones, thermal imaging and real-time terrain monitoring could help security forces disrupt raids before they occur.​

According to Aliu, Nigerian forces still lack the tools and training to operate effectively in forests and other difficult terrain where bandits hide. He added that improved intelligence fusion, hostage negotiation skills, cyber-tracking of criminal networks and adherence to ethical standards would strengthen overall security capacity.​

Aliu warned that insecurity is crippling the economy as farming belts collapse, schools shut down and investors avoid high-risk areas, while many businesses now budget for kidnapping threats. He also said Nigeria’s instability is spilling over into West Africa through refugee flows and the movement of illegal arms, arguing that accepting foreign assistance does not weaken sovereignty but protects it from violent groups seizing territory.​

He concluded that Nigeria is running out of time and urged leaders to act with urgency, clarity and purpose to reverse the tide of banditry and terrorism. For many communities now living under constant threat, the latest attacks are a stark reminder that promises of security reforms must quickly translate into visible results on the ground.​