A pastor of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Reverend James Audu Issa, has been brutally murdered by bandits in Kwara State despite his family and community paying a ₦5 million ransom for his release.

Naija News learnt that Issa was abducted on August 28, 2025, from Ekati village in Patigi Local Government Area. For weeks, his family, church members, and residents of the community raised the ransom money after the gunmen initially demanded ₦100 million before reducing it to ₦5 million.

According to indigenous outlet Nupeko TV, the bandits later demanded an additional ₦45 million even after receiving the ₦5 million. Before fresh negotiations could commence, Issa was killed.

“This act of brutality, known as a ransom-for-murder scenario, underscores the ruthlessness of the bandit groups terrorising Kwara North. The death of the pastor, particularly after the community’s immense sacrifice, is a severe blow to Ekati and the entire Patigi Emirate,” Nupeko TV reported.

The killing comes amid a surge of violent attacks in Kwara North. On Thursday morning, bandits abducted a police officer identified as Ezra along the Patigi-Lade road. Ezra, an indigene of Ndanakun, was returning from night duty when gunmen ambushed his motorcycle. His colleague managed to escape, but Ezra was seized.

Eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters that the bandits shot sporadically before whisking the officer away.

Barely 24 hours earlier, two brothers were kidnapped on their cassava farm at Bokungi Zambufu under Lafiagi Emirate. One of the victims, Mohammed Mohammed, is a prominent community leader and former president of the National Association of Nupe Students (NANUS). Villagers said gunmen stormed the farmland, opened fire, and abducted the brothers while others fled.

The repeated incidents have sparked fear among farmers and residents, with community leaders lamenting the government’s inaction. “Our people can no longer go to their farms. We are living in fear every day,” a resident said.

As of press time, security agencies had yet to release an official statement on Issa’s killing or the latest abductions.