A member of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku, in Kwara State, has shared his harrowing experience after being abducted during an evening service on November 18.
The worshipper was among 38 congregants who were later rescued, a development confirmed by President Bola Tinubu on Sunday.
In an interview with TVC News, the survivor described the suddenness of the attack.
“It was a sudden act, a terrifying act. Because that evening, after 30 minutes of the programme, we just heard gunshots,” he said.
He added, “Even to my own perspective, I didn’t know it was gunshots. I thought it was just sparking of some wire.”
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He recounted that the assailants quickly surrounded the entire church building.
“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 abductees were then taken into a forested area controlled by the terrorists.
“It was unimaginable because when we got there, we didn’t know that it was a dominated area,” the survivor added.
He said the kidnappers openly boasted about their dominance 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.
According to the victim, the group demonstrated extensive knowledge of the terrain, including all routes connecting forests in 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 said.
The kidnapping of CAC Oke Isegun in Eruku comes amid a recent surge in abduction incidents across Kwara and other northern states.
Despite the trauma, the church resumed services last Sunday, as members continue to return to worship.
