Ondo State Commissioner of Police Adebowale Lawal has blamed pregnant women for attending a night church service instead of being in a hospital when they were abducted by gunmen in Uso.
Adebowale Lawal, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, has said pregnant women abducted during a night attack at the Celestial Church of Christ in Uso should have been in a hospital or maternity home. “I do not know when a church became a maternity home or hospital. If someone is pregnant, the best place should be a hospital or maternity home,” Lawal was quoted by journalists on Friday. He added, “It is easier for us to monitor religious activities during the day than at night. We have advised religious leaders — Muslim, Christian and traditional worshippers to suspend night worship for now because of the prevailing security challenges. If they want to do anything, they should carry us along so we can give expert advice on whether it is safe for their congregation and possibly provide security for them.”
FIJ had earlier reported that kidnappers took three pregnant women along with other worshippers when they attacked the church in the early hours of Wednesday. The abductors later released the three pregnant women after allegedly torturing them, while four worshippers remain in captivity. The incident adds to growing security concerns in Ondo State, where residents of Ilu Abo in Akure recently staged a protest over incessant kidnappings after gunmen reportedly abducted a couple returning from their shop.
The state has witnessed a series of violent incidents in recent months, including the killing of Oba Kehinde Falodun, the Alagamo of Agamo, during an attempted abduction at his palace in Akure on February 11. In November 2025, the Ondo State Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, intensified surveillance around boarding schools following suspected bandit threats. Earlier in August 2025, youths in Akure blocked roads to protest the killing of a 34-year-old man and the abduction of a businesswoman in Ayede Ogbese Community, underscoring rising insecurity across the state.