ILORIN, NIGERIA — More than three months after a devastating terrorist raid on the Woro community in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, 176 abducted residents—primarily pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children—remain in captivity.
The captors, identified as a Boko Haram faction under the leadership of a commander known as “Sadiku,” have demanded a massive ₦3.52 billion ransom (representing ₦20 million per victim) to secure their release.
The February Massacre and Abduction
The crisis began during the late afternoon of February 3, 2026, when heavily armed militants overran the Woro and Nuku communities. The insurgents, reportedly dressed in military camouflage, launched a brutal onslaught after residents rejected their demands to preach in the village.
The overnight carnage resulted in the slaughter of at least 170 to 200 villagers, including two sons of the local traditional ruler, Alhaji Salihu Bio Umar. Before retreating into the forest corridors bordering Borgu National Park, the fighters set fire to hundreds of homes and forcefully marched 176 vulnerable women and children into the bush.
Ultimatum and Severe Conditions in Captivity
Proof-of-life videos released by the terrorist group have shown rows of emaciated hostages under armed guard. In the footage, the captors berated the Federal Government for trying to downplay the severity of the crisis.
Recently, the terrorists issued a one-week ultimatum to the government, threatening to execute the hostages or force the young girls into marriages if the ₦3.52 billion demand is not met. The warning was relayed through a captive who was temporarily permitted to call her family following a Friday prayer session.
The traditional ruler, Alhaji Salihu Bio Umar—whose second wife and remaining children are among the captives—confirmed the psychological torture the families are facing. He stated that the abductees explicitly pleaded for urgent intervention, describing their health conditions as rapidly deteriorating.
Political Backlash Over APC Campaigns
The protracted hostage crisis has sparked intense public indignation across Nigeria. Civic activists and local residents have voiced deep anger over the apparent disparity in government priorities.
Critics, including human rights activist Rinu Oduala, point out that while nearly 180 citizens languish in a forest terror camp, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has continued to host political rallies and campaign activities within Kwara State.
“Over 170 kidnapped pregnant women and children from Woro, Kwara are still with terrorists since February,” Oduala stated. “The terrorists demanded a ransom of over 3 billion naira. APC is still campaigning in the same state, by the way.”
Current Status of the Rescue
The Kwara State Government under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has maintained an official stance against paying ransoms to terrorist groups. While a battalion of the Nigerian Army was deployed to the Kaiama axis following the initial February massacre, no successful breakthrough or rescue operation has been launched to recover the missing women and children.
Concurrently, humanitarian bodies like UNICEF have established temporary emergency medical camps in the area to provide maternal kits and treatment to the thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled the initial attacks, but the fate of the 176 hostages remains entirely uncertain.
