Gunmen abduct pastor, member in Kogi

The pastor of the Christian Evangelical Fellowship of Nigeria (CEFN) Church, Itobe, in the Ofun LGA of Kogi State, Pastor Friday Adehi, and another member of the church, Gabriel Ezekiel, have been abducted

They were kidnapped shortly after church service on Sunday, Vanguard gathered.

The duo were said to be travelling on a motorcycle when they ran into the kidnappers along Ajegwu-Ojodu Road in the same local government area of the state.

They were said to have attended a naming ceremony of another member of the church after their Sunday service and were returning to their residence in Itobe when they were abducted at gunpoint.

An eyewitness said, “The incident happened between 3 and 4pm on 24th August 2025 (Sunday) when both members of the church were returning from Ojodu to Itobe. The pastor was riding on his bike with another man accompanying him. Then the kidnappers, who were lying in ambush, suddenly burst onto the road when they sighted the motorcyclist approaching. The kidnappers stopped them at gunpoint and directed them into the bush.”

News gathered that the local vigilantes under the joint task force with the military are already on the trail of the kidnappers.

Though community efforts to clear the bushes along the main road from Itobe to Anyigba to expose kidnappers laying ambush by the roadside are in progress, the gesture, which has been sponsored by an individual, Dr Simeon Oyigu, seems not to deter the gunmen from laying siege on the road.

However, the CEFN Church and other Christian faithfuls have declared prayers and fasting for God’s intervention in the safety and freedom of the church members.

Also, the apex Igala socio-cultural organisations, ICDA, and Ukomu Igala have called on the Kogi state government to prioritise the deployment of drone technology to effectively track kidnappers and bandits using the forests as their hideouts to negotiate ransom.

The group had stated that the strategy will enable the joint task force to achieve results in their war against criminals in the forests.