Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Two recent kidnappings by suspected bandits have thrown communities in Sokoto and Kogi states into panic, underscoring a stark lack of security during local gatherings. In Sokoto State, abductors who seized 13 people, including a bride and her friends during wedding preparations in Chacho village, have contacted the community to demand a meeting with the traditional ruler rather than a ransom, prompting residents to lament the total absence of police presence that has left them vulnerable to repeated, fatal attacks over the past five years. Meanwhile, in a separate incident in Kogi State, gunmen stormed a Cherubim & Seraphim Church during a Sunday service, kidnapping the pastor, his wife, and several congregants, which has drawn sharp condemnation from Senator Sunday Karimi and renewed calls for swift federal intervention.