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.View Post
Sources: Premium Times, Vanguard