A community representative and former Ekiti State commissioner, Rufus Ajayi, has revealed that kidnappers who abducted worshippers during the recent church attack in Legbe community, Ilejemeje Local Government Area, reduced their ransom demand after the community said it could not raise the amount requested.
Speaking in a video aired by Channels Television on Saturday, July 4, 2026, Ajayi said the community relied on prayer throughout the victims’ captivity and attributed their eventual release to divine intervention.
“The stone heart of the kidnappers, God Almighty turned it… There is no way we could raise the money they were expecting from us. They said whatever we have, they would take it from us and release our people. And God did,” he said.
Ajayi said the community fasted and prayed until the victims were freed. They were released in the early hours of Saturday and taken to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti for medical evaluation and treatment.
Ilejemeje Local Government Chairman Pius Alabi described the outcome as bittersweet because one person was killed during the attack. He commended the Ekiti State Government’s support and said the council has continued to hold security summits to improve community safety.
