THE Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has said operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) and the military established direct contact with the terrorists who abducted 38 worshippers from the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Oke Isegun, Eruku, in Kwara State.
He disclosed this on Monday, November 25, while speaking on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, where he said the security operatives knew the identities and locations of the bandit groups.
The ICIR reported that all 38 worshippers abducted during last Tuesday’s attack regained freedom on Sunday, November 24, after days in captivity. The release followed a combined operation involving federal and state security agencies, with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq confirming that President Bola Tinubu personally oversaw the efforts.
Onanuga said operatives moved in immediately after the incident and engaged the abductors directly. According to him, the bandits backed down because they understood the consequences of refusing security directives.
“I think after the incident happened, the DSS (legally known as SSS) and the military were involved in the rescue effort. They got in contact with the bandits to release those people unharmed, and finally on Sunday, they were able to get them out unharmed,” he said.
He explained that although security agencies track the movements of armed groups, they sometimes avoid direct confrontation due to the risk of killing hostages.
“The security people, they do have a way of tracking these people. They know what is going on at any point in time. What sometimes restrains them from going after them is the risk of collateral damages. They (bandits) go about abducting our people and use them as shields so that they would not be attacked,” he added.
Onanuga said the abductors were aware that failing to release the captives could trigger a military strike.
“They (bandits) know the risk. If they keep those people in there and we are saying release them, they know that the next thing will be for the government to embark on the kinetic action and attack their base. But they can’t risk it; if you attack their base, you can also kill those captives.”
Pressed further on how the negotiation unfolded, he declined to give details, saying that “That is left for the security people to discuss, but what I know is that they contacted them to release those abducted.”
Responding to questions on why the government did not immediately arrest the bandits, he said securing the safety of the victims was the first priority.
Onanuga also stated that the “security people, they know all the bandits that are operating in that axis. They know them. They know where they operate.”
The Eruku attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents in Kwara’s border corridor with Kogi and Niger. Data gathered by The ICIR shows a surge in kidnappings, highway ambushes, and attacks on farming settlements in Ekiti, Kaiama and Baruten LGAs.
The assailants invaded the Eruku Church during a programme on Tuesday night, shooting sporadically and taking worshippers into the forest. Three people were confirmed dead, while one person remains hospitalised.
The abduction immediately drew national condemnation and renewed scrutiny of Nigeria’s security architecture, especially after the United States designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over escalating violence.
Besides, the Kwara attack, the country witnessed three more abductions within the week, forcing President Bola Tinubu to call off his planned trips to Angola and South Africa.
The attacks also forced the Federal Government to shut down its 41 Unity Colleges nationwide, while states, namely Plateau, Bauchi, Niger and Katsina, shut down schools.
The ICIR reported that on November 17, 2025, armed men breached the fence of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, killed the vice principal, and abducted 25 schoolgirls, a chilling echo of the Chibok, Dapchi, and other mass kidnappings of young girls in Nigeria.
A teacher was killed while trying to protect the girls during the attack, and a security guard later died in the hospital from gunshot wounds.
Boko Haram fighters kidnapped 12 women and girls in Mussa district, Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday, November 22.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Nahum Daso, confirmed the incident on Sunday.
He said the women were kidnapped while returning from their farms, adding that the Command had launched an investigation into the matter.
Similarly, gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Papiri Private Catholic Secondary School in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, in a fresh attack and abducted scores of students and teachers, in the early hours of Friday, November 21.
Local sources said the gunmen arrived at the school between 3 and 4 a.m. in large numbers, riding on over 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van, and shot the school’s gatekeeper, leaving him with serious injuries.
The ICIR reported earlier today that bandits also struck at Isapa community, near Ekuru, in the Ekiti LGA of Kwara State.
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Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M