Kidnappers demand N280m ransom for 18 abducted churchgoers after murdering monarch's 14-year-old child.

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Sixty-three-year-old Bukola Daramola, the Queen of Ikerin-Opin in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, tells DANIEL AYANTOYE about the tragic kidnapping attack on her community that claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy she raised, the N280m ransom demand by the bandits, and her plea for urgent government intervention

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What led to the death of your 14-year-old boy?

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There was a children’s anniversary programme in our church on Sunday, May 25, 2026. The church is located on a mountain. The children were excited about the anniversary and wanted to go there for rehearsals. I didn’t want him to go because it was just the two of us at home.

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He, however, pleaded with me to let him go because his friends had come to call him. I eventually agreed. He left a few minutes before 6 p.m. Those people (the bandits) arrived around 7:30 p.m. They had not even entered the church before they started shooting. Three people were hit by bullets, while they abducted 18 others and took them into the bush.

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What was your relationship with Kola Aina?

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He was like a grandson to me and my family. I regarded him as my last-born. He was the only one living with me. Despite being just 14 years old, there was no meal he could not prepare. He was always helping me around the house. He was preparing to write his Junior WAEC examination.

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I completely lost myself when I heard what happened. I was later told that I fainted. When I regained consciousness, I saw people gathered around me and noticed that water had been poured on the floor inside the house. That was when they told me I had fainted.

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He was a boy I loved dearly, and my children loved him too because they saw him as their youngest brother.

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Why did he choose to live with you and the Olowa of Owa-Ode, Oba Ademola Daramola (now late), instead of with his parents?

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One day, several years ago, before my husband became king, I saw him hawking puff-puff barefoot. I was outside the palace when I noticed him and called him over. I asked why he was hawking without shoes and whether his mother had sent him out like that.

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He told me it was not his mother but someone else in the area, who had sent him. I immediately took him to where shoes were sold, bought him a pair, and left.

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From that day, he began telling his mother that he wanted to stay with us. Eventually, he ran to the palace, knelt before the king and cried, insisting that he wanted to live with us. The king asked him to bring his mother.

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His mother later told us that since the day I bought him the shoes, he had been saying he wanted to stay with us. Before my husband became king, we had always been involved in philanthropy while living in Lagos, so it was not difficult for us to take him in and support him.

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When he came to live with us, we bought everything he needed for school: clothes, shoes, bags and other essentials. We accepted him as our own child. He was still in primary school then and had remained with us ever since. His mother appreciated what we did and would sometimes come to help around the house.

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Where was his father when all this was happening?

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His father died before he came to live with us. You know that when a father dies, life often becomes difficult for the family, and the children may suffer. That was what made him hawk doughnuts within the community.

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What was his mother’s reaction to the incident?

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I was afraid when they told me she was coming because I didn’t know how she would react. It was a devastating loss for everyone.

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But when she arrived, she spoke calmly. She said it pained her that despite the care we gave him, we were unable to enjoy the fruit of our labour.

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She also said that if she had known about the anniversary programme on Sunday, she would have attended, and if the bandits had come that day, she too might have been among the victims.

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How was Kola before he left home for the rehearsal?

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He was very happy because he had been looking forward to wearing his new clothes and shoes. I gave him plenty of mangoes and oranges and asked him to share them with the other children. I also promised to join them the following day, Sunday.

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If the bandits had attacked on Sunday instead, I might also have been a victim because I never miss church programmes. I always attend services on Wednesdays and Sundays.

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Are you saying they did not have a vigil that night?

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There was no special vigil. The children were simply excited because those participating in a drama presentation on Sunday wanted to rehearse that night.

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He was also scheduled to recite a poem during the programme, and their Sunday school teacher had asked all the children to come so they could practise before the main event.

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What was his future ambition?

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He wanted to learn two vocational skills, aluminium door fabrication and POP (Plaster of Paris) installation.

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I once asked him why he did not dream of becoming a lawyer. He replied that not every graduate was able to find a job. He said he preferred to learn a skill so he could earn a living and take care of me.

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He was always appreciative whenever you bought anything for him. We took good care of him. Even after the king died, he once told me he feared he would begin to suffer. I assured him that he would not. I told him that as long as my own children continued their education, he too would remain in school.

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What plans did the king have for him before he died?

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My husband had great plans for his education and future. He bought him a writing board and personally took him for lessons. Every day, the king supervised his homework himself. He loved him deeply and wanted him to become an educated and successful man.

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Now everything has fallen apart. We no longer have anyone but God.

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When did your husband die, and how have you been coping since then?

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He died on November 23, 2024. Since then, this boy has been my companion at home. I owned a small shop before, but since this incident happened, everything has come to a standstill. I am practically stranded now.

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I have one grown-up child in Lagos who has been searching for a job without success, while another is still in a higher institution.

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Who were the people behind the attack?

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We do not know. I was not there, but I asked the pastor what language they spoke. I was told they spoke both English and Fulfulde.

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According to those who survived, one of the attackers told another during the operation, “They didn’t tell us to kill; stop killing. They told us to pack all of them.”

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The other attacker then shot the one who spoke in the hand. When the bleeding became severe, they tore a piece of cloth from the pastor’s wife’s dress to bandage the wound. They also abducted the pastor’s wife and children.

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Has anything like this happened in your community before?

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It has been a long time, but this is the third incident.

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The first time, a stray bullet hit a corps member in the neck during an attack, and the bandits fled. Members of the community rushed the corps member to the hospital.

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Another incident occurred less than two months ago when bandits abducted the wife and three children of a Fulani herder. They were eventually released after the family reportedly paid N45 million in ransom. It was not long after their release that this latest attack happened.

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You said 18 people were kidnapped. Are they still in the bush?

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Yes, they are still in the bush. We are just praying to God for intervention. We don’t know what else we can do. We are only praying to God.

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Is it true that the bandits are demanding N300m ransom?

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Yes. Where are we going to get such money? Everyone is struggling to raise it.

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What is the state government doing about it?

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I don’t know. I heard they deployed policemen and soldiers to the community on the morning of the incident. Since then, I haven’t heard anything because I have not been myself.

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What is the community doing to raise the ransom?

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Everyone is trying to raise the money. Usually, when something like this happens, people in the community contribute, both young and old. The bandits have now reduced the ransom to N280m.

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The entire community has not been able to raise even N10m, and the bandits have threatened to kill the captives if they don’t receive the money. We have been praying every day.

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What is the situation in the community now?

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Many people have fled because of the incident. We are afraid because if they could attack people in a church, they could also begin attacking people in their homes. It feels as though we are living in a prison.

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Before we can regain confidence, we need to see that the government has taken decisive action and that the bandits are no longer operating in our area. Even if you have good clothes now, you won’t want to wear them because you fear being identified as someone who appears to have money. We are living in fear in Nigeria.

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What is your appeal to the government?

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We are pleading with the government to help us. Everyone is crying over their loved ones who have been kidnapped. They should sympathise with us. If they cannot apprehend the bandits, they should pay the ransom so the victims can be released.

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We don’t even know who we can approach now. If you go to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s office, would you even be able to speak with him? They are killing us slowly. The people in the bush are suffering, and those of us at home are suffering too. Nobody can go to work or open their shops while our loved ones remain in captivity.

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