Six more members of the First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) congregation in Aiyetoro Kiri community of Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, Kogi State, have been released by their captors following weeks of negotiations and the payment of ransom, community leaders confirmed on Wednesday, 21 January 2026.
The captives were among dozens seized when armed assailants stormed the rural church during a Sunday morning service on 14 December 2025. Reports from multiple media outlets and eyewitness accounts describe gunmen on motorcycles attacking the settlement, opening fire and forcing worshippers, including elderly members and children into nearby forest terrain before abducting them.
Local development associations, families of the abductees, and residents engaged in prolonged discussions with the kidnappers, eventually pooling financial resources under intense pressure to meet ransom demands. Public statements from the Aiyetoro Kiri Bunu Development Association (AKBDA) indicate that the release of these six marks the conclusion of a phased liberation effort that began earlier this month.
Earlier phases saw groups of captives freed after separate tranches of ransom payments and negotiations, with first releases occurring at the start of January 2026 and subsequent groups being freed in the days that followed. The community noted that some of those released in earlier phases were in poor physical condition, reflecting the harsh conditions under which they were held.
Voices from within the community welcomed the safe return of the remaining hostages but lamented the emotional and economic burdens endured over the past weeks. Leaders called on state and federal authorities to enhance security in the area, pointing out that rural communities like Aiyetoro Kiri remain vulnerable to armed gangs operating with relative impunity in remote forest corridors.
The attack in Kogi forms part of a broader pattern of kidnappings and armed raids on houses of worship in central and northern Nigeria, where militant groups and criminal bands have intensified operations amid limited security presence. Similar incidents have been reported in neighbouring states, underscoring persistent challenges in protecting civilians and places of worship in isolated communities.
