Over 150 Kwara Residents Trapped In Terror Camps As Kidnappers Reject ₦155m Ransom, Threaten Forced Marriages

• Families say over 150 residents abducted from Kaiama LGA have remained in terrorists’ camps for nearly six months despite raising more than ₦155 million in ransom.

• Relatives allege the kidnappers rejected the ransom and threatened to forcibly marry female captives while killing other hostages if their demands are not met.

• Community leaders have urged the Federal Government to launch a rescue operation similar to the one that recently freed abductees in Oyo State.

• DSS-led security operatives killed three suspected bandits and rescued nine kidnapped victims in a separate intelligence-driven operation in Kwara, as fresh calls grow for state police.

July 30, () — Families of more than 150 residents abducted by terrorists in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have renewed a desperate appeal to the Federal Government, the Kwara State Government and security agencies to urgently secure the release of their loved ones after nearly six months in captivity.

The families alleged that the abductors had rejected more than ₦155 million raised by affected communities as ransom and were now threatening to forcibly marry female captives they described as “beautiful” while killing other hostages.

The fresh appeal comes even as security operatives recorded a major breakthrough elsewhere in Kwara State, killing three suspected bandits and rescuing nine kidnapped victims during an intelligence-led operation in Ekiti Local Government Area.

Speaking in an interview monitored on the BBC Hausa Service, a Kaiama indigene, Abdul Ibrahim, said families had exhausted virtually every available option to secure the release of the captives without success.

According to him, members of the affected communities embarked on a massive crowdfunding campaign and raised more than ₦155 million in a desperate bid to negotiate the victims’ freedom. However, the abductors allegedly rejected the money, leaving the hostages in terrorists’ camps.

“We have done everything within our means. The money was raised, yet our people have not been released. Their suffering continues, and families are living in agony,” Ibrahim said.

He further alleged that the terrorists had warned that they would force the attractive female captives into marriage while killing the remaining hostages if authorities failed to meet their demands.

Ibrahim said peaceful demonstrations organised by residents had also failed to attract the level of intervention needed to secure the victims’ release.

Echoing the appeal, the Dan Sardaukin Kaiama, Suleiman Bukata, called on the Federal Government and security agencies to replicate the operation that recently secured the rescue of abductees in Oyo State by extending similar military action to Kaiama.

Bukata said the successful rescue in Oyo had rekindled hope among families in Kaiama, insisting that residents of the community deserved the same level of commitment from the authorities.

“Every additional day these victims remain in captivity exposes them to greater danger and unimaginable hardship,” he said.

DSS-Led Operation Frees Nine Victims

In a separate development, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), working with the Kwara State Forest Guards, local hunters and vigilantes, killed three suspected bandits and rescued nine kidnapped victims during a fierce gun battle in Ekiti Local Government Area of the state.

The intelligence-driven operation was conducted around the Obbo Aiyegunle, Ejiu Ora and Osi communities along the Kwara-Ekiti border, an area that has witnessed increasing kidnapping attacks in recent months.

The rescued victims included farmers abducted from their farmlands and others earlier kidnapped in neighbouring Ekiti State.

Confirming the operation, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of Ekiti Local Government Area, Prince Dada Sunday, said actionable intelligence enabled security operatives to storm the kidnappers’ hideout.

According to him, more than 10 armed kidnappers had assembled victims abducted from different locations before the joint security team engaged them in a fierce gun battle, forcing the surviving criminals to flee into the forest and abandon their captives. He disclosed that one of the rescued victims sustained serious head injuries after being attacked with a machete while resisting abduction.

One of the rescued victims, Umaru Muazu of Obbo Aiyegunle, recounted how he and his son were seized while working on their farm.

“They came from nowhere and pointed a gun to my head. Four of them took me and my son. They also took my friend’s motorcycle before marching us into the bush,” he said.

Another rescued farmer, Ibrahim Danga, said the victims had already spent some time in captivity before security operatives arrived and overpowered the kidnappers.

A member of the Kwara State Forest Guards, Owolabi Adebayo, described the operation as intelligence-driven, saying three bandits were neutralised while nine victims regained their freedom.

“They were heavily armed and possessed different types of firearms. We need more operational equipment, including body armour, binoculars, night-vision goggles, walkie-talkies and ammunition to effectively confront them,” Adebayo said.

Renewed Calls for State Police

Commenting on the worsening security situation across northern Nigeria, Senator Adamu Aliero said the National Assembly had consistently approved funding requests by security agencies to prosecute the war against terrorism. He argued that the persistence of terrorism reflected the complexity of the security challenge rather than inadequate funding.

The senator, however, renewed his call for the establishment of state police, insisting that governors should be constitutionally empowered and adequately equipped to deploy local policing structures capable of responding more effectively to security threats in their respective states.