The seven construction workers kidnapped from a Kwara State Government road project have regained their freedom after spending several weeks in captivity.
The abduction occurred on December 15, 2025, while the workers were engaged in construction activities along the Sabaja–Owa-Onire Road in Isin Local Government Area, triggering widespread anxiety among residents and the victims’ families.
Confirming their release in a statement issued on Monday in Ilorin, the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Olajide Abolarin, said the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Abdulquawy Olododo, disclosed that the workers were freed through coordinated actions involving the state government and security agencies.
Olododo described the release as a major boost to the state’s public safety efforts and commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for demonstrating strong political resolve in tackling insecurity.
He also disclosed that two of the abducted workers were engineers in the employ of the Kwara State Ministry of Works, noting that their ordeal underscored the risks faced by personnel involved in public infrastructure projects.
“We are grateful to His Excellency and to the security agencies. We also appreciate everyone who stood by us in these trying times,” the commissioner said.
The abduction had earlier drawn public attention after families of the victims raised alarm over what they described as slow rescue efforts, alleging that the kidnappers demanded a ransom of N500m.
According to reports, the families’ spokesperson, Dare Boyinbogun, told journalists on December 29, 2025, that the gunmen stormed the construction site at about 11:40am and forcefully took away several workers and their driver.
“Since that moment, our lives have been suspended between hope and despair. They demanded the sum of N500 million from us. How are we going to raise that?” Boyinbogun said.
He stressed that the victims were ordinary workers contributing to the development of Kwara State, lamenting that their families were plunged into fear, hunger and emotional distress during the period of captivity.
The families had appealed to the state government and security agencies to intensify rescue operations, an appeal that has now been met with relief following the safe return of the abducted workers.