The Nigerian Government on Wednesday announced the rescue of 308 people abducted in separate attacks in Kwara and Niger states, describing it as the country’s largest single-day rescue operation.
According to presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the victims included 163 people kidnapped during an attack on Woro village in Kwara State in February 2026, and 145 others from Niger State.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu welcomed the successful operation. The victims were rescued from a location in the Kainji Lake National Park forest.
Suspected terrorists attacked Woro village, near the Benin border, in February, killing more than 150 people and abducting an unknown number of residents. While media reports estimated that 176 people had been kidnapped, Kwara State police said as recently as Friday that the figure had not been substantiated.
Following the attack, Tinubu condemned the violence, describing it as a “beastly attack”, deployed an army battalion to the area and blamed Boko Haram militants for the assault.