The presidency has revealed how the federal government secured the release of 38 Christians kidnapped during an attack on Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, Ekiti LGA of Kwara.
“They didn’t pay them (the terrorists),” presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said in an interview on Arise TV on Monday. “If they keep those people (the abductees), the next thing is that the government might embark on kinetic action and attack their base. But that is risky because if you attack their base, you can kill the people you’re trying to rescue.”
On Sunday, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq announced the release of the 38 kidnapped worshippers, citing the hands-on approach of President Bola Tinubu, whom he said personally led the efforts to free the abductees.
Mr Onanuga, in the interview, explained that the security operatives had a way of tracking the terrorists to ensure that the hostages were released unharmed.
The presidential spokesman added, “After the incident happened, the DSS and the military were involved in the rescue as they got in contact with the bandits to release those people unharmed. And finally, on Sunday, they were able to get them out unharmed.
“At the risk of revealing how they do their work, they do have their way of tracking these people, so they know what is going on at any point in time. What sometimes restrains them from going after the terrorists is the risk of collateral damage. You know they go about abducting our people and use them as shields.”
Asked about whether the government had a deal with the terrorists to rescue the worshippers, Mr Onanuga further stated, “It’s left for the security people to discuss. What I know is that they contacted them to release the abductees because they know the consequences of not acquiescing to the government’s demands to let the people go.”
He maintained that the first responsibility of the government was to secure the release of the abductees, adding that the next line of action would be decided by the security agencies.
“The first thing the government needed to do was to secure the release of the abductees. As for the next line of action, it is left for the security people to take. I don’t want to second-guess because the security people know what to do,” Mr Onanuga stated.
Meanwhile, Labour Party chieftain Peter Obi commended the government and the security agencies for rescuing the worshippers and about 50 pupils from the Catholic Private School in Niger State, urging the government to deepen efforts in order to rescue others in captivity.
