Rampaging bandits have shot three people dead, while no fewer than ten persons were abducted inside a church in Eruku in the Ekiti local government area of Kwara state on Tuesday in a renewed onslaught.

Spokesperson of Eruku Community, Olasukanmi Ayeni, who confirmed the development in an interview with reporters, said the victims were attacked right inside one Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Isegun, at Okeado Street around 6pm during service on Tuesday.

Olasunkanmi, who identified the victims as Tunde Asabe, Segun Alaja (as he is popularly called) and one Deremi, added that another girl with a deep gunshot injury on her neck is still lying critically ill at the hospital.

“The people were abducted inside the church; there are about ten, but it could be more than that. The three corpses are still inside the church as we speak,” he said

He said that for about four weeks, the bandits have been making desperate attempts to penetrate the community through the Eruku/Egbe and Eruku/Omuaran roads but were successfully rebuffed until Tuesday, when they gained access to the town.

Olasukanmi also said that during the time bandits were making efforts to penetrate the community, several rescue calls made to the state and local government were unanswered.

He noted that the Ekiti local government chairman, Wale Awelewa, who rebuffed several Save Our Soul calls of the community, hadn’t paid a sympathy visit to the community as of Wednesday morning.

Olasukanmi, however, commended the efforts of the local police, which had been assisting the local vigilantes to chase the bandits away from the forests.

According to him, “The police in the community have been doing a fantastic job by following our local hunters to the forests to track the hideout of the bandits and chase them away; otherwise, it would have been a worst-case scenario for us.

“All efforts we made to the state and local government when the bandits were making efforts to penetrate our community, and they were being resisted by our local hunters, were not answered.

“If they had answered us, this attack wouldn’t have happened. As we speak, the local government chairman hasn’t paid any visit to our community; it’s that bad.

“The bandits reinforced; that was why they were able to penetrate our community. I learnt that some of our vigilantes who used to support our local hunters have been taken to Ilorin to be trained as forest guards.”

Meanwhile, the state command of the police confirmed the development in a press statement by the spokesperson, Adetoun Adeyemi.

The statement reads, “The Kwara State Police Command confirms an attempted bandit attack in Eruku, which occurred at about 18:00 hours today, 18th November, 2025.

“The DPO Eruku and his team of police operatives, in collaboration with vigilantes, swiftly responded to the sound of gunshots emanating from the outskirts of the town, prompting the hoodlums to flee into the bush.

“Upon thorough search of the area, one male victim, Mr Aderemi, was discovered fatally shot inside the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Isegun, while another victim of a fatal gunshot, Mr Tunde Asaba Ajayi, was found in the bush. A vigilante, Segun Alaja, sustained gunshot injuries and was immediately rushed to ECWA Hospital, Eruku, for medical treatment.”

CP Adekimi Ojo commended the swift response of the police and vigilantes, even as he assured the public that security agencies will not relent until these hoodlums are totally decimated.