‘They dominated the entire area’ — Kwara church attack survivor narrates ordeal in captivity

A member of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku in Kwara state, has recounted his ordeal in the kidnappers’ den.

He was one of the worshippers abducted during evening service on November 18.

On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu announced that all the 38 worshippers have been rescued.

In an interview with TVC, the victim said the attackers struck shortly after the programme commenced and fired shots around the church.

“It was a sudden act, a terrifying act. Because that evening, after 30 minutes of the programme, we just heard gunshots,” he said.

“Even to my own perspective, I didn’t know it was gunshots. I thought it was just sparking of some wire.”

He said the assailants surrounded the entire church building during the assault.

“By the time we got up, they surrounded the whole church. Even some people there began to narrate that they were seeing drops of blood everywhere,” he said.

The survivor said the captives were taken into a forested zone controlled by the terrorists.

“It was unimaginable because when we got there, we didn’t know that it was a dominated area,” he added.

He narrated that the abductors openly identified as bandits and boasted about their stronghold in the region.

“They made us know that there is no one who can slip away without being caught. And with what we saw, nobody can escape,” he said.

He said the group appeared familiar with all routes linking forests across Kwara and neighbouring states.

“From that place, they have dominated. They knew all the routes surrounding all those bushes within Kwara and other cities. They knew it,” he added.

Kwara and several other northern states have recorded a rise in abductions in recent weeks, including the attackon CAC Oke Isegun, Eruku.

Meanwhile, the church resumed service last Sunday.(The Cable)