Families of 176 abducted residents in Woro, Kwara State, face a last chance to secure their loved ones’ freedom amid escalating ransom demands and delays in negotiations, exposing the worsening insecurity in north-central Nigeria.
Families of 176 people abducted from Woro in Kwara State say the captives have been told they have one last chance to secure their freedom, as negotiations over ransom reportedly stall. The abduction, which took place on 3 February in Kaiama local government area, has deepened anxiety in the community after a video circulated online showing the victims appealing for help. According to local reports, the group includes children, pregnant women and other vulnerable people.
In the footage, which spread on social media last week, the captives speak in English, Yoruba, Hausa and Nupe as they press the authorities and the wider public to intervene. One woman, speaking for the group, said they had spent more than two months in captivity and feared time was running out. She said the detainees were being fed and not physically assaulted, but insisted they still wanted to go home.
Residents quoted by local outlets said the images have intensified anger over what they see as a slow response from officials. A Kaiama resident, Adamu Yahuza, said the video showed crying children, including babies, while another resident, Saliu, said the kidnappers were insisting on about N20 million per victim. That would put the total demand at roughly N3.52 billion for the full group, far above the N1 billion figure some reports have cited.
The broader pattern is not new in north-central Nigeria, where abductions for ransom have increasingly become a tool of pressure on communities and governments. Earlier reporting by Vanguard described a separate case in which gunmen demanded N1 billion for church worshippers in Kwara, underscoring how large ransom demands have become part of the country’s worsening insecurity. For the families of the Woro hostages, however, the immediate fear is simpler: that any delay could cost more lives.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
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