‘We’ll Marry Beautiful Ones, Kill The Rest’ — Terrorists Threaten 176 Woro Captives

Families of 176 people abducted by terrorists in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have appealed to the Federal Government and the Kwara State Government to intensify efforts to secure the release of their relatives, who have remained in captivity for nearly six months.

The appeal comes after relatives alleged that the kidnappers threatened to force some of the female captives into marriage while killing the remaining hostages if their demands were not met.

Speaking during an interview on BBC Hausa Service, a Kaiama resident, Abdul Ibrahim, said the affected families had exhausted their resources in an effort to free their loved ones. He disclosed that community members raised more than N155 million through donations for ransom, but the abductors allegedly rejected the money, leaving the victims in captivity.

He said the families had explored every possible means to secure the release of the hostages but their efforts had yielded no result. He added that the continued detention of the victims had left many families in deep pain and uncertainty.

According to him, peaceful protests organised by residents to draw attention to the plight of the captives also failed to produce the level of government intervention they had hoped for.

Another community leader, Dan Sardaukin Kaiama, Suleiman Bukata, urged the Federal Government and security agencies to launch a rescue operation similar to the one that recently secured the freedom of abducted victims in Oyo State.

Bukata said the successful rescue in Oyo had renewed hope among families in Kaiama, adding that residents expected the same commitment from the authorities to save those still being held by terrorists. He warned that the captives faced increasing risks with each passing day.

Meanwhile, Senator Adamu Aliero expressed concern over the growing insecurity across northern Nigeria. He said the National Assembly had continued to approve funding requests from security agencies to support operations against terrorism.

Aliero maintained that the persistence of terrorist attacks reflected the complexity of the country’s security challenges rather than a lack of financial support for security agencies.

He also renewed his call for the establishment of state police, arguing that governors should be given constitutional powers and adequate resources to create local policing structures capable of responding more effectively to security threats within their states.