Gunmen stormed a church in Eruku, Kwara state, western Nigeria on Tuesday, killing two worshippers during an evening service captured on video.
The harrowing footage shows children screaming outside as armed men chase congregants and steal belongings, leaving a community in shock and fear.
The attack follows the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from the Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, northwestern Nigeria, one of whom escaped, authorities said.
Police and local vigilantes responded swiftly, forcing the attackers into the bush, recovering the bodies of Mr Aderemi inside the church and Mr Tunde Asaba Ajayi nearby.
Another man injured in the assault was rushed to hospital, while Michael Agbabiaka, the church secretary, reported 35 people abducted, though figures remain unverified.
President Bola Tinubu has placed national security forces on the “highest alert,” ordering the pursuit and elimination of terrorists, bandits, and other criminal elements.
Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq requested immediate deployment of additional security operatives to the area to prevent further bloodshed and restore safety.
The spate of attacks has drawn international attention, including from American conservatives framing violence as anti-Christian, a narrative Nigeria rejects as misleading.
Experts emphasise that both Christians and Muslims fall victim to widespread criminal violence, with bandits looting villages, kidnapping, and targeting houses of worship across northern Nigeria.
Kwara state has endured repeated attacks in recent months, prompting October military deployments to dismantle gang bases in local forests and restore relative security.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, continues security cooperation talks with the US, insisting that religious killings are not being selectively targeted.
The latest wave of violence underscores persistent insecurity in Nigeria, where sectarian divisions and criminal gangs exacerbate longstanding regional instability.