WorldStage– Armed gang continues to wreck havoc on the community of Christian priests in Kwara State as more of them are being kidnapped almost on daily basis for inexplicable reasons and under controversial circumstances.
The escalation in kidnappings and attacks on Christian clergy and other residents has created a state of siege in parts of Kwara State. Recent incidents have forced residents to flee communities and left others, including religious leaders, vulnerable to armed bandits. Persistence of the attack led to all residents of a community in the Pategi local government area to leave in drove. The attacks were so severe that the village, including its church, was left completely deserted.
Lately, kidnappings and attacks include abduction of Pastor Audu Issa James on August 28, 2025 when gunmen stormed the Evangelical Church Winning All parsonage in Ekati village, Kwara State. They demanded church funds before kidnapping 65-year-old Pastor James. There was also the abduction of Pastor Adewumi and Engineer Adeyemi in October 2024 during which armed men abducted Pastor Adewumi from his home before using him to lure his neighbor, Engineer Adeyemi, who was also taken.
Following the series of abductions, a joint security operation rescued seven kidnap victims during a raid on a forest hideout near Owa-Onire. The operation involved security operatives, police, and vigilantes, who engaged in a gun battle with the kidnappers.
Kidnappers were also active in neighboring states. They snatched Pastor Ayodeji Akesinro from his home in Upenme in the southern state of Ondo a day after James. Another group kidnapped Pastor Friday Adehi of the Christian Evangelical Fellowship of Nigeria in Itobe, a city in the north-central state of Kogi, after a church service on August 24.
“We don’t even know for sure what the kidnappers want,” said Gabriel Dunia, Roman Catholic bishop of Auchi. Dunia’s comments came after gunmen attacked Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Ivhianokpodi, Edo State, on July 10, 2025 killing a security officer and abducting three seminarians. “We see a growing pattern of attacks directed against Christian communities and institutions,” he said.
Many have attributed national security breakdown as one of the leading factors contributing to the crisis. In their opinions, this localized crisis is part of a wider trend of escalating violence and insecurity affecting multiple regions of Nigeria.
Experts cite poor governance, economic hardship, and systemic corruption as major drivers of this instability.
Another reason people advanced for the attack on the clergy is ransom. They believe criminal gangs see clergy as soft targets for financial gain, as churches and families are often pressured to pay ransoms.
This’s particularly true if James’s abduction as his abductors contacted his family on the morning of August 28, demanding a ransom of 100 million naira ($67,000 USD)—an impossible sum for villagers. The kidnappers halved their demand after hours of negotiation. James’s family bargained for a payment of 5 million naira ($3,000 USD) to get him back, which the bandits settled for on September 7. The family sold all they could and borrowed from friends. On September 9, family friends took the money to a bush path in Ekati. Then the abductors changed their mind and insisted on receiving the balance of 45 million naira ($30,000 USD).“They refused to release him. Baba is still with them,” Theophilus told journalists.
Another reason cited is financial motivation over religious persecution. It’s argued that while some attacks may be religiously motivated, many are driven by the lucrative nature of the ransom industry.
This reason also sounds true in the case of James because it’s reported that ten days before his kidnap, James was said to have warned the youth in his church to avoid “this dangerous path.” The church reportedly took an offering for some of its projects, drawing kidnappers’ attention and making him the next target. “It had been going on for a little long before it happened to my dad,”
James’s 34-year-old son Theophilus said of the financial motivation.
According to him, trouble also festered within. Young men in their late teens and 20s bragged about earning money by telling kidnappers about rich villagers.
Another reason some people give is the problem of vulnerability in rural areas. Many say absence of prominent community leaders in remote areas leaves clergy as the main figures of authority, making them easy targets for kidnappers.
There’s also the problem of weak state presence, according to public analysts, who explain that the perception of inadequate law enforcement and a lack of consequences for perpetrators fuels the kidnapping crisis.
Response to the crisis has resulted in increased police presence, with the Kwara State Police Command intensifying patrols and calling for community support to provide intelligence on criminal activities.
Response has also overlapped to Vigilante collaborations, with introduction of use of local vigilantes alongside police and other security forces which has proved effective in recent rescue operations.
However, state and religious leaders continue to appeal for improved security and for the federal government to address the root causes of the widespread kidnapping trend.
Audu James is only one among at least 145 Christian clergy in Nigeria kidnapped from 2015 to 2025, according to The Open Doors World Watch List. The organization also reported that at least 2,830 Christians were kidnapped in Nigeria in 2024, “far more than other countries in the same year.”
According to research by SBM Intelligence, a Nigerian-based geopolitical research firm, at least 4,700 people were abducted and 2.56 billion naira ($1.7 million USD) ransoms paid between July 2024 and June 2025.
SBM Intelligence blamed the Nigerian government for failing to dismantle bandit networks and address the root causes of kidnappings.
Extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Fulani militants also kidnap Christians in remote areas. Their chilling intent, according to missionary Isaac Agada, is to sow fear and stop missionary efforts.
“Once they discover that you are a Christian or this is a Christian community, you become the major target,” Agada said. “And if you’re a missionary or a pastor, then you are a more special focus.”
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom urged Nigeria to address the “impunity” enjoyed by perpetrators and address Nigeria’s problem of Muslim-Christian violence.
More than two years into Nigerian president Bola Tinubu’s tenure, critics say the government is not doing enough to deliver on promises of enhanced security.
“The government’s inability to effectively gather and utilise intelligence has contributed to the current security challenges facing the country,” said Opialu Fabian, a security consultant.
A 2022 law banned ransom payments for kidnapped persons and imposed a minimum 15-year jail term for violators. Abduction is punishable by death if victims die or life imprisonment if they don’t.
However, the country’s centralized police system weakens implementation. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) remains under federal control. Governors lack authority over the NPF due to concerns about potential abuse for political purposes.
In early September, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State decried the national government’s inability to fight the bandits. The governor responded to an incident in Shinkafi local government area, where bandits had attacked and security forces had refused to act without federal approval.
“We cannot do anything beyond our powers,” he said. “If today I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara within two months.”
Gideon Para-Mallam, a Christian missionary based in Plateau state, told journalists that state governors should be empowered to tackle banditry in their states. Para-Mallam argued the failure of the Nigerian government to admit Christian persecution has contributed to why the government hasn’t implemented structural changes to the security apparatus.
