FEATURES
“I Don’t Know The Source”- Kwara CP Debunks Claim 176 Residents Abducted In Kaiama Attack
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, has dismissed reports that 176 residents were abducted during the deadly terrorist attack on Woro and neighbouring Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area.
Addressing journalists in Ilorin on Friday, Adekimi said the figure did not originate from any official security record and could not be authenticated.
The clarification came barely 24 hours after relatives of victims, community leaders and traditional authorities appealed to the Federal Government to intensify rescue efforts, claiming that about 176 persons remained in captivity nearly six months after the attack.
Responding to the viral figure, the CP said security agencies acknowledged that several residents were taken, but could not confirm the 176 number.
“Regarding the claim that 176 people were kidnapped from Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area, I honestly do not know the source of that figure because it did not come from any security agency or operative,” Adekimi said.
He alleged the number started circulating after a video surfaced showing a group of abducted persons who were made to claim they were over a hundred.
“I recall that people from Kaiama said they could recognise only about 10 persons in the video, including the wife of the traditional ruler. Based on that, I cannot confirm that 176 people were actually abducted from Woro,” he added.
“The story of 176 abductees is one being peddled by the bandits themselves, and I cannot confirm it. What I can assure you is that concerted efforts are being made to secure the release of whoever is currently in the hands of the bandits,” the police chief said.
Adekimi also disclosed that recent security operations in neighbouring Oyo State had shifted focus to suspected terrorist enclaves around Borgu.
“Following the recent operation in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, security efforts have been concentrated around Borgu because intelligence suggests that members of Lakurawa, Ansaru and Boko Haram are domiciled in that axis,” he said.
“These terrorists are not domiciled in Kwara State. Their base is in Borgu Local Government Area and the surrounding axis. Several security operations are currently ongoing there, and many of them are being apprehended.”
The CP’s comments followed renewed calls for a large-scale rescue operation after negotiations with the kidnappers reportedly collapsed.
The Punch reported that the Woro attack occurred on February 3, 2026, when scores of heavily armed terrorists on motorcycles invaded the farming community, killing residents, burning homes and shops, and abducting many others.
Relatives alleged that the communities raised more than N155m to secure the release of captives, but claimed the terrorists rejected the money and threatened to execute some hostages while forcing female captives into marriage.
Speaking on behalf of affected communities in a video on Thursday, Abdul Ibrahim said residents had exhausted all options without securing the release of any victim.
Also, the Dan Sardaukin Kaiama, Suleiman Bukata, urged security agencies to replicate the rescue operations carried out in Oyo State, saying those still held in terrorists’ camps in Kaiama should not be abandoned.