AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of Kwara State, has said that 38 people who were recently kidnapped during an attack on the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state have been freed.
Rafiu Ajakaye, the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, said this in a statement today.
The statement made it clear that government officials and security agencies played a big part in getting the kidnapped people back.
“After many days of hard work by security forces and government representatives, HE AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (CON) is happy to announce the freedom of 38 people who were recently taken in an attack on Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Eruku, Ekiti LGA, Kwara State,” the statement said in part.
Sunday PUNCH says that the governor thanked President Bola Tinubu for being directly involved in the rescue mission.
“The governor claims that President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, has personally spearheaded the attempts to free the abductees, and that this is all thanks to his hands-on attitude. Today, November 23, the people that were taken were let go.
The statement went on to say, “The governor is very grateful to President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, for his direct action that made this happen.”
It remembered that the president had put off his planned travel to the G20 meeting in South Africa to personally make sure that security was tight in Kwara and Kebbi states.
The president had to cancel his travel to South Africa for the G20 Meeting because he had to deal with problems in Kwara and Kebbi States.
“He had also ordered more security to be sent to Kwara, which showed how much he cared about the safety and well-being of our people and all Nigerians,” it said.
AbdulRazaq also thanked the federal and local security forces who were part of the operation.
The statement said, “The governor also thanks the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, and, of course, the Nigeria Police, which has kindly sent four new tactical teams to Kwara State on the President’s orders.”
Lastly, the governor acknowledged those people who helped with the rescue attempts.
Michael Agbabiaka, the Secretary of CAC Oke Isegun, also confirmed the rescue. He told our reporter that the Department of State Services called the community at 4 p.m. to let them know that the captives had been freed.
He said that the people in the area were eagerly waiting for them to come back home and be with their families.
Agbabiaka remarked, “Yes, they called us to say that the abductees had been freed.”
“We are waiting for them to come back to the community.” He also said, “Our people are eager to see them alive and safe.”
The kidnapping in Kwara caused a lot of anger across the country after armed bandits broke into a church service on Tuesday, murdering three people and taking 38 others.
The event was one of the biggest mass kidnappings in Kwara’s recent history and made people more worried about the rise in bandit activity along the state’s borders with Kogi and Niger.
The rescue happened just days after security forces, including troops, DSS agents, Special Tactical Squad units, SWAT teams, anti-kidnapping agents, and local vigilantes, started a major search effort.
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