Victims abducted during the deadly attack on the Woro community in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have arrived in Ilorin following their rescue after spending several months in captivity.
The victims arrived in the state capital late Thursday night after regaining their freedom through sustained military operations and coordinated efforts by security agencies. They were reportedly transported from Niger State to Ilorin, where they were received at the Nigerian Army’s 2 Division, Sobi Barracks.
The rescued victims were subsequently moved to an undisclosed location where they spent the night. Some of the victims were taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
The victims were among residents abducted after armed attackers invaded Woro earlier this year, killing scores of people and taking several others into the surrounding forests. The attack triggered widespread concern and prompted intensified security operations across the area as authorities worked to locate and rescue those taken captive.
The rescued victims are expected to be formally handed over to Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who has been engaging security authorities over efforts to secure the safe return of the abductees.
Authorities are expected to continue the process of verifying the number of rescued victims while providing them with the necessary medical, psychological and welfare support following their prolonged period in captivity.
In February, assailants attacked the village of Woro, killing more than 150 people and kidnapping roughly the same number. Terrorists went on a rampage in Woro earlier this year after they had sent a letter to the village announcing their intention to preach, only to have no one show up. In apparent retaliation, they burned houses and killed upwards of 165 people and kidnapped an unknown number of people, residents told reporters at the time, though local authorities gave a lower toll.
Large parts of the village had been reduced to piles of ash and rubble in the assault.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu warmly welcomed the successful rescue of 308 Nigerian citizens who were abducted in different attacks in Niger and Kwara states, according to presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga. He added that 163 were from Woro and 145 from Niger State.
The victims were rescued from a location in the Kainji Lake National Park Forest. Sprawling, often sparsely governed forests and reserves across the country have turned into hideouts for Nigerian criminal groups.
Onanuga described the operation as “the largest rescue operation ever carried out” in a single day, involving the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, the military, the Department of State Services, the intelligence agency, and the police.
Tinubu at the time condemned what he called a “beastly attack,” deploying an army battalion to the troubled region and blaming Islamist movement Boko Haram. A few months before, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil in the state, near Woro.
Reports had put the number of those kidnapped at 176, though as recently as Friday the police in Kwara state said that number was unsubstantiated.
