Kidnappers demand ₦500m ransom for abducted construction workers in Kwara

Kidnappers holding seven construction workers abducted in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State have reportedly demanded a ransom of ₦500 million for their release, intensifying concerns over the deteriorating security situation in parts of the state.

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SaharaReporters first reported the ransom demand, quoting a family source as saying the abductors contacted relatives of the victims on Wednesday evening and insisted on the payment of the sum before the workers could be freed.

“The kidnappers have reached out and demanded ₦500 million for the release of the seven construction workers,” the source said, appealing to the Kwara State Government and security agencies to intensify efforts to secure their safe return.

The victims were abducted on Tuesday, 16 December, while working on an ongoing construction project around the Oba community in Isin Local Government Area. Armed men reportedly stormed the site, overpowered the workers and took them into a nearby forest. Two officials of the Kwara State Ministry of Works are among those kidnapped.

However, community leaders have disputed reports suggesting that the victims are indigenes of Oba.

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, a community leader in Oba, Ogundele Joseph, said the incident did not occur within Oba proper and that none of the victims were from the community.

“Those victims are not indigenes of Oba. This happened in Owa-Oniri,” Mr Joseph said. “The people that were kidnapped are workers, but not citizens of Oba.”

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He explained that the location of the abduction was closer to Owa-Oniri than Oba.

“Where that incident took place is less than a kilometre from Owa-Oniri but about seven kilometres from Oba community,” he said.

Mr Joseph added that no member of the Oba community had been reported missing and that residents did not feel directly threatened by the incident. “I don’t have any information that the families of the victims have been contacted. Even if relatives have been contacted, they are definitely not from Oba, and I am not sure they are from Owa too. They could be from anywhere in Kwara,” he said.

Efforts to obtain official reactions from the state government and security agencies yielded limited results.

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, who declined to comment on the incident, saying security matters were best addressed by the police. “Speak with the police about that. Police are in charge of the security of the state,” he said.

Calls and messages sent to the Police Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Police Command, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, were not returned as of the time of filing this report.

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Similarly, repeated attempts to reach the commandant’s spokesperson of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kwara State, Ayoola Shola, were unsuccessful, as his phone line was switched off.

The abduction and subsequent ransom demand come amid heightened security concerns in Kwara State, following recent controversies over armed operations in parts of the state. Earlier, viral videos and reports alleged that armed men were arrested while operating with government-issued weapons in Ifelodun Local Government Area, claims the Kwara State Government dismissed as misinformation.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) later stated that the persons allegedly arrested were not criminals. The ONSA noted that, under Nigeria’s counter-terrorism framework, trained vigilantes and auxiliary forces may be supported to work alongside security agencies in difficult terrains, including forested areas in the North-central region, including Kwara.

Residents and civil society groups say the kidnapping of construction workers, particularly those working on public infrastructure projects, underscores growing vulnerabilities in rural communities across the state.