Nigerian security forces have rescued 308 people abducted in separate attacks across northern Niger and Kwara states, in what President Bola Tinubu described as the country’s largest single-day rescue operation by a joint security team.
The operation, carried out by the military, police, intelligence agencies and the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, targeted the Kainji Lake National Park forest area where the victims had been held. Of those freed, 163 had been abducted during a deadly February attack on the Woro community in Kwara State that killed at least 170 people. Another 145 victims had been seized in Niger State.
The rescued individuals, including men, women and children, were transported to a military facility where they received medical care before being reunited with their families. Authorities did not immediately confirm whether any suspects were detained during the operation, though the presidency signaled that further details would follow as debriefing continues.
Tinubu praised the rescue as evidence of improved coordination among Nigeria’s security agencies, which have struggled for years to contain a kidnapping epidemic that has spread well beyond the northeast conflict zone. Kidnapping for ransom has become one of the country’s most lucrative criminal enterprises, with hundreds of victims held at any given time across the north and northwest.
The February attack on Woro was among the deadliest single kidnapping incidents in Nigerian history. Armed gunmen stormed the rural community in Kwara State, killing at least 170 people and abducting scores more in an assault that underscored the scale of the security crisis facing Tinubu’s administration.
Nigeria’s security forces have faced mounting criticism over their inability to protect rural communities from armed groups. The joint-task-force approach used in this week’s rescue, bringing together military and intelligence assets under a single command, may signal a shift in operational strategy toward more coordinated operations.
The rescue comes amid growing international attention on Nigeria’s security crisis, with the United States and United Kingdom both expressing concern over the spread of militant violence and kidnapping beyond traditional conflict zones in the northeast. Analysts say criminal networks have increasingly exploited weak rural governance and porous borders to expand operations.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly called on the government to address the root causes of insecurity, including poverty, unemployment and limited state presence in remote areas, warning that military operations alone cannot resolve a crisis driven by deep structural factors.
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