13 unaccounted for after 163 Kwara abductees rescued – Community leader

The National Chairman of the Kaiama Development Association (KDA), Yakubu Salihu, says only 163 of the 176 women and children abducted in Woro, a community in the area in Kwara State, have been released, with the others unaccounted for.

Armed terrorists had invaded Woro on 3 February, killing scores of residents and abducting 176 women and children in one of the deadliest attacks recorded in Kwara North this year.

On Thursday, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq announced that the abductees and 145 others kidnapped from neighbouring Niger State had been rescued by the security forces in the Kainji Lake National Park forest.

Some of the rescued children

Mr Salihu spoke after Governor AbdulRazaq disclosed that the 163 rescued persons were receiving medical care.

“One hundred and seventy-six were taken away, only 163 were released, leaving 13 people still missing. Where are the others?” the Kaiama community leaders asked.

Mr Salihu also disclosed that some of the women delivered babies during the six months they spent in captivity.

According to the governor, the rescued victims are expected back in Kwara by Saturday for further medical attention and resettlement.

In a statement announcing the rescue of the victims, the governor said they were at a federal health facility and would return to Kwara after the medical procedures for rehabilitation and reintegration.

“The rescued citizens are currently receiving comprehensive medical care and support at a federal health facility. We will be glad to receive them in the state upon the completion of their medical procedures so that we can also offer necessary support to ease their reintegration process,” Mr AbdulRazaq said.

The governor said the victims were rescued through a coordinated operation by security agencies.

He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as his decisive intervention in securing the release of the captives, noting that about 145 other people abducted from neighbouring Niger State also regained freedom during the same operation.

Mr AbdulRazaq commended the Office of the National Security Adviser, the State Security Service, the Nigerian Army and the police for their strategic collaboration that led to the rescue.

He urged residents to continue providing useful security information to security agencies to prevent future attacks, expressing optimism that the deployment of additional troops and military hardware, as well as the establishment of new military formations in the state, would strengthen the fight against terrorists.

For his part, Mr Salihu renewed the Kaima community’s appeal to the federal government to expedite action on the establishment of a permanent Nigerian Army battalion in Kaiama, saying inadequate security personnel had left communities vulnerable to repeated attacks.

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“The federal government is working towards establishing a Nigerian Army battalion in our community. We are ready to provide a suitable location and every support needed to ensure the military settles in quickly and begins operations,” he said.

Mr Salihu said a permanent military presence would improve surveillance, enhance emergency response and help prevent a recurrence of such attacks.

He also called on the government to rehabilitate the poor road network in Kaiama Local Government Area to improve security operations and economic activities.

Despite the rescue of 163 victims, concerns remain over the fate of the 13 people yet to be accounted for.