Fresh revelations have emerged about the fate of the 176 residents abducted from Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, with community sources alleging that terrorists have demanded N20 million ransom for each victim while negotiations with the state government have stalled.
Sources familiar with the situation told newsmen that the silence from authorities in recent weeks is linked to ongoing but unsuccessful negotiations between representatives of the government and the terrorists suspected to be members of Boko Haram.
According to a community source who spoke with newsmen on Sunday evening, the insurgents had already contacted intermediaries and placed a heavy financial demand on the families and the government.
“The terrorists have already reached out through negotiators,” the source said. “They demanded N20 million for each of the 176 abducted people. That is the offer on the table now.”
This amounts to N3,520,000,000 (N3.52 billion).
The source explained that the Kwara State Government is currently unwilling to pay the ransom demanded by the terrorists, which has led to a stalemate in discussions.
“What is causing the silence from the government is that the negotiation has not succeeded,” the source added. “The government is not willing to pay that amount, so the discussion is still ongoing behind the scenes.”
According to the insider, residents are not aware of any concrete plan to launch a military operation into the forest where the victims are believed to be held.
“The soldiers are only stationed within the primary school in Woro; they are not entering the forest. This is the same thing that happened at Eruku, when people were kidnapped and later released. They did not go in search of the terrorists; they later reached an agreement with them and the victims were released. Nobody has been arrested till date,” the source alleged.
“What they are trying to do instead is to find a way to negotiate and possibly pay ransom.”
Meanwhile, families of the abducted residents say the prolonged uncertainty has left them in deep anguish, particularly as weeks have passed without any new communication from the terrorists.
Relatives of the victims told newsmen that they fear some of the captives, including pregnant women and children, may already have died in captivity due to the harsh conditions in the bush.
“We are living in fear every day,” one relative said. “Since they were taken, we have not heard anything from the terrorists or from the government. No calls, no demands, nothing. It has been about a month since they paraded them in a video, and since then we have heard nothing again.”
The relative said the continued silence had intensified fears within the community.
“We are particularly worried about the pregnant women and the children,” the source said. “Some of them were already weak before they were taken. If they are in the bush without food or medical care, how can they survive for this long?”
Another resident said the community has been gripped by grief and uncertainty.
“Our hearts are heavy every day,” the resident said. “We don’t know whether our people are alive or dead. We are begging the government to act because we cannot continue living like this.”
“We are losing hope,” the resident added. “Nobody is telling us anything. The government is silent, and the terrorists are silent too. We are afraid some of our people may have died in their camp.”
Newsmen had earlier reported that suspected Boko Haram terrorists released a disturbing video showing dozens of abducted victims, including women, children and a nursing mother, allegedly kidnapped from Woro community.
In the footage, one of the terrorists was seen interrogating the captives and asking them to state where they were abducted.
Responding in Hausa, three women, including a nursing mother, said they were kidnapped from Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The video showed dozens of women and children standing in rows, many of them visibly distressed. Several of the children appeared half-clothed, while the victims’ clothes looked dirty and worn, suggesting they had been held in harsh conditions.
During the recording, one of the terrorists accused the Kwara State Government of misleading Nigerians and the international community about the scale of the abduction.
According to the terrorist in the video, the government initially claimed that between 20 and 30 people were kidnapped, while the actual number of captives in their custody stood at 176.
Following the release of the video, the Kwara State Government said it was deeply concerned about the development.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Communications, Bolanle Olukoju, the government said it was working with security agencies to verify the identities of those seen in the video.
