Fresh and deeply troubling details have emerged about the fate of the 176 residents abducted from Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, with community sources revealing that the terrorists suspected to be members of Boko Haram have demanded a ransom of N20 million for each victim, bringing the total demand to N3.52 billion.
According to sources who spoke with SaharaReporters, the prolonged silence from the Kwara State Government in recent weeks is directly linked to ongoing but unsuccessful negotiations between government representatives and the insurgents. The sources said the talks have reached a stalemate because the state government is unwilling to meet the massive ransom demand placed by the terrorists.
A community source who spoke with SaharaReporters on Sunday evening confirmed that the insurgents had already contacted intermediaries and placed a heavy financial demand on both 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.”
The source went further to explain why authorities have remained quiet about the situation for weeks. “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.”
What has added to the frustration of community members is the apparent lack of any military effort to rescue the victims. According to the insider, there are no signs that security forces plan to enter the forest where the captives are believed to be held. “The soldiers are only stationed within the primary school in Woro, they are not entering the forest,” the source alleged. “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 said authorities appear to be following the same pattern of quiet negotiation rather than military intervention. “What they are trying to do instead is to find a way to negotiate and possibly pay ransom,” the source said.
Meanwhile, families of the abducted residents are living in deep anguish as weeks continue to pass without any meaningful communication from either the terrorists or the government. Relatives told SaharaReporters that they fear some of the captives, including pregnant women and children, may have already 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 added that there are serious concerns about the health of the most vulnerable captives. “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 described the emotional toll on the community. “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.” The resident added, “We are losing hope. 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.”
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the suspected Boko Haram terrorists released a disturbing video showing dozens of the abducted victims, including women, children, and a nursing mother. 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 confirmed 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 children appeared half-clothed while the victims’ clothes looked dirty and worn, suggesting they had been held in extremely 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 disturbing 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. However, as of the time of this report, authorities have yet to publicly announce any breakthrough in efforts to rescue the abductees.
The abduction traces back to the February 3, 2026 attack on Woro community when suspected Sahel-backed terrorists carried out a deadly assault on the quiet agrarian settlement. During the attack, dozens of residents were reportedly killed including two wives of the Emir of Woro, several of his children, the Chief Imam of the community, a school principal, a headmistress, and students who had just returned home from school. The scale of the attack and the mass abduction that followed have raised serious questions about the reach of insurgent groups in parts of Nigeria that were previously considered relatively safe….See More
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