…As Gov Abdulrazaq thanks President, NSA, DSS
The rescue operation of the 38 kidnapped church worshippers of Eruku, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State effected by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) at about 3.20 pm on Sunday, November 23, 2025 did not happen by chance, but as a result of the personal coordination by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the strategies presented by heads of security agencies.
The strategies, according to a security sources, which were carefully and personally implemented by President Tinubu led to the successful rescue of all the victims.
Several AK-47 – wielding men had last Wednesday invaded the Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, Kwara State and shot at worshippers and at the end of the bloody attack which was inadvertently streamed live, two worshippers were killed while several others were wounded.
The dare devil gunmen thereafter fled into the bushes with 38 other worshippers, triggering international outrage.
However, the dramatic rescue came as the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, thanked President Tinubu, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as well as the Director General of the DSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, and heads of other security services, for bringing relief to millions the world over who had been on edge for days.
Forefront News also gathered from security sources that President Tinubu personally took charge of coordinating the operations, taking round-the-clock briefings, weighing the options, and resolving to go to extreme lengths to prove wrong all those accusing his administration of not protecting Christians and non-Christians enough.
Further checks indicated that the president’s personal involvement triggered an unprecedented intelligence mapping and aerial surveillance by the Office of the NSA, which resulted in DSS operatives swopping on established coordinates in the forests of Oreke Okeigbo, in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
A source said; “The President approved the Sunday raid by the DSS and the Nigeria Air Force, culminating in the rescue of the victims. The operation was highly classified, so couldn’t tell if the kidnappers fled on sighting the security operatives, or were eliminated”.
The sources also drew attention to the fact that some gunmen had in June attacked a marble mining company in the same area, killing two policemen, and kidnapped some Chinese workers.
A breakdown of the 38 rescued kidnapped church worshippers showed that 26 of them are females while the remaining 12 are males with the oldest victim who is 67 years old, while the youngest worshipper is five.
It was also gathered that four other of the rescued victims included six, nine years old respectively while two of them are 10 years old with three others in their pre-teens.
Similarly, there were four teenagers, while the rest are between 20 and 58 years old.
A statement by Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor, said Governor AbdulRazaq commended President Tinubu’s hands-on approach to making the “Eruku 38” regain freedom.
According to Ajakaye; “The Governor says this is wholly due to the hands-on approach of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, who has personally led the efforts to free the abductees.
“The abductees were freed today, November 23. The Governor is immensely grateful to President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, for his direct initiative that made this happen.
“The President had called off his scheduled trip for the G20 Meeting in South Africa to attend to the breaches in Kwara and Kebbi States. He had also directed heightened security deployments to Kwara, in what underlined his firm commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our people and Nigerians as a whole.
“The Governor also expresses appreciation to the Office of the National Security Adviser; the Department of State Services (DSS); the Nigerian Army; Nigeria Intelligence Agency; and, of course, the Nigeria Police, which has graciously deployed four new tactical teams to Kwara State on the directive of the President,” he noted.
“The Governor also thanks members of the security forces across board, thought leaders, religious institutions, and all Kwarans for their support and goodwill since the unfortunate incident,” Ajakaye stated.
