Kehinde Ishola
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, on Sunday night received the 38 worshippers of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Isegun, Eruku, who regained freedom after spending several days in the custody of armed bandits.
The victims — many exhausted, dehydrated, and weak — were transported to the Government House Clinic in Ilorin, where medical personnel immediately began emergency care. Some were placed in inner wards for closer monitoring.
AbdulRazaq, who visited the clinic to assess their condition, interacted with several of the freed worshippers. One of them, Bamidele Emmanuel, described their experience as “harrowing,” adding: “What we went through is not something anyone should experience.”
A pastor in the CAC Ilorin District, Oluwafemi Ajayi, expressed gratitude to the federal and state governments, saying the past few days had been “a very difficult period” for the church.
“We are grateful to God, to the Federal Government, and to the state for the release of our members,” he said.
Speaking after receiving the abductees, the governor said their release was a relief but stressed it was “not yet a time for celebration” while other Nigerians elsewhere remain in captivity.
“The release of the 38 victims is not yet for celebration. There are other captives in different states who have not been released. Until every Nigerian held by criminals is freed, we cannot celebrate,” AbdulRazaq said.
He praised President Bola Tinubu for what he described as the President’s “decisive intervention” and “unwavering commitment” to securing the victims’ release.
The worshippers were attending a church programme last Tuesday when bandits invaded CAC Oke Isegun, Eruku, in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State. Three worshippers were killed, while 38 were abducted. The attack drew nationwide outrage and renewed concerns over persistent bandit activity around Kwara’s borders with Kogi and Niger — long-identified vulnerable corridors exploited by criminal groups.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, the governor’s spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye, said the return of the abductees followed days of coordinated operations involving federal security agencies and local forces. He credited the breakthrough to the President’s “hands-on” involvement, noting that Tinubu had cancelled his planned trip to the G20 Meeting in South Africa to oversee security responses in Kwara and Kebbi states.
Ajakaye added that the DSS, the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, and the police — including four newly deployed tactical teams — participated in the operation that secured the victims’ release.