Segun Atanda/
Fresh details have emerged on the tragic fate of Mrs Rachel Oluwaremilekun Omole, the wife of an Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) pastor in Kwara State, and four other worshippers who were reportedly killed by their captors despite their families paying millions of naira in ransom and supplying food, fuel and other items demanded by the abductors.
The victims were among worshippers seized during a terrorist attack on ECWA Church in Omugo, Oro Ago District of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State on March 22, 2026, when armed men stormed a Sunday service and whisked congregants into the forest.
Security operatives and local vigilantes later rescued some victims, but eight worshippers remained in captivity.
The deaths came to public attention after an escapee from a separate abduction reportedly emerged from the area and relayed information from the kidnappers’ camp, prompting devastated families to accept that five of the captives had not survived.
Reports published this week identified the dead as Mrs Rachel Omole, Elder David Omopariola, Chief Joseph Ibitoye Afariogun, Mrs Iyabo Aniyi and Elder Joshua Akanbi Adeyemi. Three other abductees are said to remain in captivity.
For Rachel’s relatives, the news ended more than two months of agonising uncertainty.
According to a moving tribute posted on Facebook by Dapo Olakulehin, Rachel had expressed concerns about worsening insecurity in Omugo just weeks before the attack.
A teacher employed by the Kwara State Government, she and her husband, Pastor Sunday Timothy Omole, had reportedly discussed relocating to Ilorin because of growing fears over insecurity in the area.
The relocation never happened.
On the morning of March 22, armed attackers invaded the church during worship and abducted congregants.
In the confusion, Rachel reportedly attempted to save an abandoned infant, strapping the child to her back as worshippers fled for safety.
Her relatives said the attackers caught up with her and forced her into captivity. The infant and two elderly captives were later abandoned and rescued, but Rachel and several others were marched deep into the forest.
What followed was a desperate effort by relatives, church members and community leaders to secure their release.
Pastor Omole had earlier disclosed that the kidnappers initially demanded an impossible ransom of N1 billion before reducing their demands.
Community leaders also said the ransom requests changed repeatedly during negotiations.
According to the pastor, families eventually raised N20 million and supplied food items, petrol, palm oil and medications requested by the kidnappers, believing the captives would be released.
Instead, the abductors allegedly increased their demands and later requested hundreds of millions of naira more.
Speaking in May, Pastor Omole lamented that despite receiving the ransom and supplies, the kidnappers refused to free the victims and continued making fresh demands. He appealed for stronger security intervention and operations across forests linking Kwara, Kogi and Niger states.
The eventual confirmation that five captives had died has deepened anger and grief across the community.
In a message shared with church members, Pastor Omole said he received the devastating news from a man who escaped from another kidnappers’ camp in the area.
The pastor described the loss as heartbreaking, confirming that only three of the eight worshippers abducted from the church were still believed to be alive in captivity.
The tragedy has renewed concerns about escalating insecurity in parts of Kwara South, where residents have repeatedly complained about attacks on farming and rural communities.
Before the abduction, community leaders had warned that Omugo and neighbouring settlements were becoming increasingly vulnerable to armed groups operating from forests spanning Kwara, Kogi and Niger states.
They called for permanent security deployments, activation of dormant police facilities and closer collaboration between security agencies and local vigilantes.
For Rachel’s family, however, the debate over security failures is now painfully personal.
She leaves behind a husband, children, relatives, church members and pupils who remember her not only as a pastor’s wife and teacher, but as a woman whose final known act was an attempt to save a helpless child while fleeing from armed attackers.
More than two months after she was abducted from a place of worship, her family is still without a body to bury, a grave to visit or the closure that comes with a final farewell.
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