Residents of Eda-Oniyo Community in Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State held a peaceful protest to demand government intervention in the ongoing captivity of 16 people abducted during a church attack on April 28, 2026. The Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) was targeted by suspected bandits who killed the presiding pastor and took 16 worshippers. Despite paying ₦10.5 million in ransom, the victims remain in captivity 36 days later. The kidnappers initially demanded ₦1 billion, later reducing it to ₦150 million and then to ₦50 million.
Community leader Ayodele Ajayi said communication with the captives had been intermittent and efforts to secure their release had failed. He confirmed that the group includes mostly women and two young boys. Mrs Ajayi, another resident, said among the kidnapped are children aged two and three, as well as an elderly woman over 80. She described emotional distress within families, with children asking for their mothers and women weeping during the protest.
Ayodele Oni, a community representative, said residents had collectively raised the ₦10.5 million and supplied two bags of rice, fuel, cigarettes, and other items demanded by the kidnappers. He described the ransom delivery as traumatic, involving travel through Kwara and Kogi states and trekking deep into forests. The community called for a security post in Eda-Oniyo and a military base along the Ekiti-Kwara boundary, citing lack of security presence as a factor enabling the attack.
A community that paid ₦10.5 million and delivered supplies to kidnappers is still waiting for its people to be freed, exposing the futility of ransom payments even when fully complied with. The captors' shifting demands—from ₦1 billion to ₦50 million—show negotiations have no predictable end. Children as young as two and an 80-year-old woman remain in captivity, with no sign of rescue. The state and federal governments have not responded to the protest or the community's plea.
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