‘Free Release Of Kwara Worshippers Shows Government Is In Touch With Terrorists’, Says Activist Gwamnishu

Human rights activist, Harrison Gwamnishu, has alleged that the free and quiet release of 38 abducted worshippers of Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku in Kwara State showed that government officials were “in touch” with terrorist groups operating across communities.

Gwamnishu stated this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the victims’ release did not reflect a security rescue operation but a negotiated handover that raises troubling questions.

“All the 38 victims kidnapped, none of them has told us they were attacked in the camp. They said the kidnappers just told them to go, and the DSS picked them up in buses and took them to Government House.

“On Saturday morning, the victims were released freely. What this means is that the government is in touch with these people who are kidnapping,” he said.

Gwamnishu said the narrative pushed by authorities was misleading, arguing that what happened in Kwara was a release, not a rescue, and that such outcomes typically signal ransom payments or direct negotiations rather than tactical intervention.

“Release and rescue are two different things. When they tell you kidnapped victims have been released, then it usually means ransom. Rescue may involve an attack where the kidnappers run away,” he said.

The activist said the freed victims told him they did not witness any confrontation or operation inside the forest where they were held, but instead, the kidnappers simply instructed them to leave.

Gwamnishu added that the abductors, numbering more than 30, should be rightly described as terrorists, not just ordinary kidnappers, especially given that they invaded a church community and killed worshippers during the attack that led to the mass abductions.

He recalled that during his visit to Kwara, community members were frantically mobilising funds after kidnappers demanded ₦20 million per victim.

According to him, the seamless release of the hostages, without any confrontation or tactical action, strengthens suspicions that the government has developed a pattern of negotiations that ultimately empowers the terrorists.

“The government is romancing with these kidnappers. They ask for ransom, we pay, and they acquire more arms to use for the next community. It continues,” he said.

Gwamnishu also criticised authorities for failing to deploy available tracking technology capable of detecting movement within forests used as hideouts.

He said Delta State has, in recent times, recorded fewer abductions because the state deliberately invested in such equipment.

“There is equipment that can be used to track these things — we have explored them. In recent times, we have not heard of these attacks in Delta because equipment was used to track kidnappers who use our forests as a hideout,” he noted.