The successful rescue of all 38 worshippers abducted from the Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, was achieved through the direct and personal coordination of security operations by President Bola Tinubu, top security sources have revealed.
Last Wednesday, several armed men wielding AK-47 rifles stormed the church during a service. The attack, which was inadvertently streamed live, left two worshippers dead and several others injured before the attackers fled into the bush with 38 congregants.
The abduction sparked widespread outrage, both locally and internationally.
According to trusted security insiders who spoke with The Nation, President Tinubu personally took control of the rescue mission, receiving “round-the-clock briefings,” assessing operational strategies, and making firm decisions to counter criticism that his administration was not doing enough to protect Christian and non-Christian communities.
One source said the President was determined “to go to extreme lengths” to ensure the abducted worshippers were rescued alive.
The President’s involvement reportedly triggered unprecedented intelligence coordination, including detailed mapping and aerial surveillance by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
This led DSS operatives to storm identified coordinates in the forests of Oreke Okeigbo, Ifelodun LGA.
Security sources disclosed that Tinubu approved the Sunday raid jointly carried out by the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Air Force, which culminated in the rescue of all 38 abductees around 3:20 pm.
Given the classified nature of the operation, the sources said it remained unclear whether the kidnappers fled upon sighting security forces or were neutralised during the raid.
They also recalled that in June, gunmen had attacked a marble mining site within the same axis, killing two policemen and abducting Chinese workers. Victims Aged Between 5 and 67 Years
A breakdown of the 38 rescued kidnapped church worshippers showed that 26 of them are females, while the remaining 12 are males.
The oldest victim is 67 years old, while the youngest worshipper is five. Four other rescued victims are six and nine years old, respectively.
Two of them are 10 years old; three are in their pre-teens, four are teenagers, while the rest are between 20 and 58 years old, the sources disclosed.
© 2025 Naijaonpoint, a division of NOP Media Inc. Contact us via [email protected]