Gunmen (1).webp
The Digest:

Bandits deployed a surveillance drone to guide a deadly attack on a church in Kogi State, part of a coordinated wave of violence across four northern states that targeted weddings, farms, and homes. This moment explores the technological leap of non-state actors and the profound desecration of communal sanctuaries, forcing a nation to experience insecurity that is both more sophisticated and more intimate.

Key Points:
  • Bandits used a surveillance drone to monitor and attack a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Kogi State.
  • The attack was part of a coordinated weekend of violence across Kogi, Sokoto, Kwara, and Kano states.
  • In Sokoto, gunmen abducted a bride, her bridesmaids, and wedding guests on the eve of the ceremony.
  • A traditional ruler, the Ojibara of Bayagan in Kwara, was kidnapped with a ₦150 million ransom demanded.
  • Officials warn of a "balloon effect," with bandits migrating south into Kogi and Kwara due to military pressure.
  • Analysts state that ransoms now fund advanced logistics like drones and satellite internet for terror groups.
  • The assaults targeted symbolic community pillars: places of worship, celebration, and traditional leadership.
The faint mechanical buzz over a quiet village signifies more than a new tool; it heralds a darker phase where violence is calculated, omnipresent, and aimed at the soul of communities, a hovering shadow that threatens every rooted sanctuary.

Sources: Premium Times, Vanguard