Kwara State governor, Mallam AbdulRazaq, yesterday received the rescued Woro abductees, Kaiama Local Government Area, in Ilorin, the state capital.
The governor said the February bloody event was not only sad, but it was regrettable.
The governor received the victims, who are mostly kids and women, from the 22 Armoured Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Nicholas Rume, reports The Nation.
AbdulRazaq hailed President Bola Tinubu for his swift response and assistance to the state.
He added the president had approved the establishment of five Army Battalions in Omu-Aran, Patigi, Ilemona, Kosubosu and Kaiama.
Said he: “It is regrettable that the Woro incident happened at all. We are grateful to God that our collective effort has paid off. Everyone has been rescued alive.
“I have since directed that appropriate medical attention be extended to everyone to ensure their wellbeing. Before this time, we have extended various forms of support to the Woro community to aid their rebuilding effort through the committee.
“On behalf of the people and government of Kwara State, I extend our profound gratitude to the president. We are truly grateful that the president has paid special attention to the state, and each time I went to him, he had responded swiftly. I usually went to him when things were so bad, and he directed the extension of Forest Guards by 1,000 men, and we still have 1,600 in training.
“I kept on mounting pressure on the president to make sure that the state was safe. The 9 Division of the Nigerian Army has been established in the state. Not just the 9 Division of the Nigeria Army, 22 Armoured Brigade Sobi is moving to Bode-Saadu. Aside from that, we have five Battalions in Kaiama, Patigi, Kosubosu, Omu-Aran and Ilemona.
“From the president’s action, you will see that there is a lot of seriousness to protect Kwara and Nigeria. This will be a security shield on Kwara.
“We truly appreciate his effort in ensuring that this will not happen again. This is indeed a very sad situation. We have not come to terms with this. We are still assessing the situation. As you can see, children and women are here today. We have about 46 of them in the hospital. The government will continue to do its best to safeguard lives and property in the state.
“This is an interim process because we don’t have all the facts yet. We pray this kind of thing will not happen again.”
In his remarks, Emir of Kaiama, Muazu Umar, regretted the dastardly massacre of some of the community members during the February attacks.
Alhaji Umar added that “throughout the six months and four days, we have been in turmoil. We thank God we are able to get here. Though we lost some people in the process. Our appreciation to the president for his support. The people that are still with them, we pray one day they will be rescued.”
In his brief remarks, General Rume said that “it was a sad event, but today I am happy to introduce to you the people through the combined effort of the security agencies we have been able to rescue.
“Again, I thank the other security agencies who have been helpful in the effort we have been making. This event is an example of the synergy that exists within security agencies in the country. I want to say that as we continue to fight insurgency and banditry in the state, we thank the governor for his support, direction and all logistics. We commit ourselves that our effort will not wane.
“You I’ll agree with me that this year there has been a reduction in the incidents we have been recording in the state. I pray that we will win the battle against our enemies.”
Also speaking, Chairman Kaiama Local Government, Abubakar Danladi, said, “We are highly delighted to gather here to witness the handing over of our people kidnapped in Woro. We are happy to be here to receive them wholeheartedly. We pray we will not witness this type of thing in our communities, Kwara and of course Nigeria as a whole.”
Speaking with reporters, one of the victims, Amira Salihu, said ten pregnant women were delivered of their children in captors’ den.
Amira, who claimed to be a professional nurse, added she attended to their deliveries without gloves.
She added that throughout their stay in captivity, they lived on sorghum (guinea corn) meal, cooking their soup with only salt and Maggi.
She added that none of the female victims was sexually molested.
“They told us that they attacked our community because the village head disallowed them from preaching their perverted religion in the community. We were staying very close to a river. Anytime aeroplanes hovered, they would tell us to run for cover.
“All through they would bring powder sorghum, salt and Maggi. No pepper, no oil. Sometimes we would sleep on an empty stomach with our children,” she added.
