By Ademola Adekusibe
18th November 2025
Hundreds of terrorists once again descended on Eruku, a quiet community in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, turning a place of worship into a killing ground. The attackers opened fire on worshippers in the middle of prayers, leaving several people dead and many others dragged away into the forest.
Eruku sits barely 25 kilometers from Itapaji in Ekiti, the same axis where nearly 100 soldiers were recently deployed to protect farming settlements. Yet the gunmen walked in boldly, as though no security architecture existed.
“They came shooting inside the worship place. People fell everywhere. We are under siege. Many have run into the bush,” an eyewitness told Irohinoodua with trembling voice.
Residents say this latest attack did not come without warnings. On Saturday, the terrorists attempted to breach the community, driving in trucks and firing sporadically along the Eruku-Egbe road. They later advanced toward the Koro axis, terrorising travellers and threatening to overrun the town. Local hunters and vigilantes, acting with no federal support, rushed to block the main entry routes and managed to push the attackers back.
Their resistance only delayed the inevitable.
By Sunday night, the terrorists returned, deadlier and more determined. Now the community is in tears, children missing, families displaced, and local hunters still chasing the invaders through the forest with little more than dane guns and courage.
Eruku’s residents say they feel abandoned. And with each attack, the fear grows that communities in Kwara are slowly becoming the next frontline of Nigeria’s expanding insecurity.
