Ekiti Community Demands Rescue as 16 Kidnap Victims Remain Unreleased After ₦10.5m Ransom

Residents of Eda-Oniyo in Ilejemeje LGA of Ekiti State held a peaceful protest calling for urgent state and federal intervention. Despite paying a total of ₦10.5 million, 16 community members remain in captivity. The abductees were seized on April 28, 2026, during a Christ Apostolic Church service. Attackers killed the presiding pastor and initially demanded ₦1 billion. This was later reduced to ₦150 million, then ₦50 million. Community leaders say contact with the victims is intermittent. Those held include mostly women, two young boys, children as young as two, and an elderly woman over 80. Protesters are pleading for a security post in Eda-Oniyo and a military base along the Ekiti-Kwara boundary. They warn that the area’s weak security presence has left them vulnerable to further attacks.

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