Kwara, Nigeria (FN) — Islamic Terrorists stormed the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, on Nov. 18, killing three worshippers and abducting forty persons, including the pastor, women and children, authorities and witnesses said.
The attackers opened fire during a church meeting, sending congregants fleeing in panic. Survivors said the gunmen destroyed the building after the assault, leaving the community without its place of worship. This is a concerted effort to strip Christians of all places of worship in Nigeria.
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights condemned the attack, calling it “barbaric” and a violation of constitutional rights to life and freedom of worship.
The incident is the latest in a series of assaults on churches across Nigeria. In 2018, gunmen killed two priests and 17 parishioners at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Benue State. In 2022, attackers opened fire at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, killing more than 40 people. Similar raids have struck congregations in Kaduna and Plateau states in recent years.
Christian advocacy groups say the repeated targeting of churches amounts to a campaign of religious persecution, which they describe as genocide. Human rights experts caution that Nigeria’s violence is complex, involving terrorism, banditry and communal clashes that predominantly affect Christians.
The frequency of the attacks on Christian communities has established a genocide against Christians and heightened fears among worshippers and renewed calls for stronger protection of places of worship and Nigerians in general.
Timeline: Major Church Attacks in Nigeria
- April 2018 — Benue State: Gunmen killed two priests and 17 parishioners at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Mbalom.
- July 2016 — Abuja: Deaconess Eunice Elisha, a mother of seven and member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, was murdered while preaching in Kubwa, a satellite town of Abuja
- December 2019 — Kaduna State: Armed men invaded a Baptist church, abducting worshippers during Sunday service.
- May 2022 — Sokoto State: Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a Christian college student, was lynched by a mob after being accused of blasphemy
- June 2022 — Ondo State: Attackers opened fire at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, killing more than 40 people.
- April 2023 — Plateau State: Coordinated raids destroyed churches and displaced thousands of Christians in rural communities.
- November 2025 — Kwara State: Armed men stormed Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, killing three and abducting dozens.
