By Ayodele Oni & Suleiman Anyalewechi
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has announced the release of 38 worshippers recently abducted in an attack on Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Eruku, Ekiti local government.
An excited Governor said this is wholly due to the hands-on approach of President Bola Tinubu, who has personally led the efforts to free the abductees.
The release comes seven days after the worshippers were abducted at the church during a programme. Report revealed that the abductees were freed on Sunday, November 23.
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, in a statement, stated that the Governor is immensely grateful to President Bola Tinubu, for his direct initiative that made this happen.
“The President had called off his scheduled trip for the G20 Meeting in South Africa to attend to the breaches in Kwara and Kebbi States.
“He had also directed heightened security deployments to Kwara, in what underlined his firm commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our people and Nigerians as a whole.
“The Governor also expresses appreciation to the Office of the National Security Adviser; the Department of State Services (DSS); the Nigerian Army; Nigeria Intelligence Agency; and, of course, the Nigeria Police, which has graciously deployed four new tactical teams to Kwara State on the directive of the President.
“The Governor also thanks members of the security forces across board, thought leaders, religious institutions, and all Kwarans for their support and goodwill since the unfortunate incident.”
Earlier Sunday morning during Church Service, the first since the horrifying incident, speaking through its Secretary Michael Agbabiaka put the number of victims at 38.
He noted that the new figure of kidnapped persons is against the initial 35 , given by the church.
While debunking insinuations that about 60 people were abducted ,the Secretary informed that a verification exercise conducted by the Church actually revealed that 38 persons were taken away by the hoodlums.
According to him, three people lost their lives, while one other is still receiving medical attention at a hospital.
“Rumours that over 60 people were abducted are not true . We have 38 people still in the bush.
“Three people died, and one is in the hospital receiving treatment. I have their names and phone numbers. We don’t want misinformation” Agbabiaka stated.
He informed that the abductors have scaled down their initial N100 million ransom to N20 million per abductee.
The Church Secretary noted that N20 million per victim was the last figure quoted, before a break in communication on Friday November 21,2025 .
The maiden Church service post-attack was marked by heavy low turn-out of members, most of whom are said to be either still afraid and or too traumatized to attend.
The few attendees however devoted much of the Sunday Service to offering prayers for the safe rescue of the kidnapped victims.
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
