Yesterday, Wednesday, 19th November 2025, remains one that threw the nation into a state of fear due to the influx of news about insecurity, terrorism, and kidnappings.
From the General who was murdered to the news of school children in Asaba being macheted by terrorists and right to the devastating news of schoolgirls captured in Kebbi, it was not an easy Wednesday. Here are some of the key highlights of yesterday.
Kwara Killings
Gunmen attacked a church in Eruku, Kwara State, killing at least two people and abducting the pastor and some worshippers. The attack occurred on Tuesday evening, and the community has been thrown into panic. The Kwara State Government has condemned the attack and requested additional security deployment to the area.
Kebbi Killings
25 schoolgirls were abducted from a boarding school in Kebbi State, and one staff member was killed. The attack occurred on Monday, November 17, 2025, and the police have launched a search and rescue operation.
This is, however, not the first time girls have been captured from their schools in the North of Nigeria.
In 2018, 110 girls were captured from Dapchi, and in 2014, over 276 girls were captured in Chibok, a town in the North East of Nigeria.
Kidnap of Rev Father Bobbi
Rev. Father Paschal Bobbi is still in captivity and held by terrorists. In a video widely circulated on X, he was shown kneeling as two masked terrorists held a gun to his head.
Reports on apps like X included a video of armed terrorists on the Abuja-Kaduna road recording themselves lying in wait. The Abuja-Kaduna road has been the site of increased kidnappings in the past five years.
About seventeen people en route to Gombe for NYSC were involved in an accident that saw them all lose their lives, except for two people who are still barely clinging to life.
However, Wednesday is not the only day when terrorists have attacked. Barely hours after the Eruku attack, terrorists attacked another town in Kwara State, kidnapping four farmers.
Bandits suspected to be kidnappers attacked a community in Abuja called Guto Village and killed a police officer in the fierce shootout that followed.
All of the aforementioned are happening amidst the targeted killings of Christians and pastors in the North of Nigeria. There has also been a targeted attack and imprisonment of Northern Christians and those protecting themselves from Fulani Herdsmen. Prominent on the list is Sunday Jackson, who has been sentenced to death.
One has to also remember that Nigeria has a long history of Christian killing, both by terrorists and by civilians. One of the people whose murder shook the internet for days in 2020 was Deborah Samuel Yakubu, who was burnt to death by her classmates for a comment she made on a group chat. Swipe for other targeted killings and massacres.
In 2017, the Nigerian army was deployed to parts of Aba and Umuahia in an operation called Operation Python Dance. While it was reported that they wanted to hunt down members of the secessionist group called Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), news reports showed that civilians in a church were also murdered.
The Southern part of Kaduna has seen an increase in genocidal attacks. These attacks saw an increase in 2021, when members of the mostly Christian communities in Kaduna were targeted and killed.
What then is the government saying or doing in the midst of all this?
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was reported to have taken a trip to South Africa amidst the insecurity and crisis in the country. This had led to even more anger from Nigerians, with many condemning his actions whilst expressing despair regarding the situation at hand.
Statistics related to the killings of Christians, massacres, abducted schoolgirls, and attacked churches in Nigeria from 2009 to the present day:
Killings of Christians
- 43,000 Christians killed by Nigerian jihadists from July 2009 to July 2021
- 50,000 Christians killed since 2009, according to a civil society group
- 62,000 Nigerian Christians murdered since 2000, according to Genocide Watch
- 5,068 Christians were massacred in 2022, with 1,041 killed in the first 100 days of 2023
- Breakdown of Christian deaths by year:
- 2016: 1,700
- 2017: 2,000
- 2018: 2,400
- 2019: 1,200
- 2020: 2,500 (out of 3,530 recorded Christian deaths)
- 2021: 3,500 (out of 5,191 recorded Christian deaths)
- 2022: 5,068
Massacres
- 52 Christians massacred in three days (2nd, 4th, and 5th) April 2023 in Umogidi, Benue State
- 34 Christians massacred on Friday, 7th April 2023 by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in Guma, Benue State
- 140 Nigerian Christians were massacred in attacks near Jos in April 2023
- 548 Christians killed and 7,576 Christian houses destroyed by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in Irigwe, Plateau State, in four years (2017-2021)
Abducted Schoolgirls:
- 276 girls abducted from Chibok in 2014, with almost 100 still missing
- 25 schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi state in November 2025
- Over 2,400 incidents of grave violations verified, affecting over 6,800 children in Nigeria’s northeastern region from 2014 to 2022
- 1,680 pupils kidnapped in Nigerian schools from early 2014 to the end of 2022, according to Save the Children
Attacked Churches
- 17,500 churches attacked and destroyed or burned down by jihadists from July 2009 to July 2021
- 18,000 churches attacked and 2,200 Christian schools destroyed since 2009
- 52 churches attacked in the last two years, according to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 102 churches attacked in the last five years, according to the same minister
Statistics on The Kwara Killings
- At least two people killed and several abducted in an attack on a church in Kwara state in November 2025
- Schools shut in five districts in Kwara state following the attack.
