Community leaders from the Old Borgu region across Kwara, Niger and Kebbi states have expressed gratitude to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led Federal Government for the rescue of 308 kidnap victims and the establishment of two new military battalions, while calling for urgent intervention on road infrastructure to address the worsening security situation.
This was contained in a press conference addressed in Abuja by the Abuja branches of the Kaiama Development Association, Batombu Unity and Development Initiative, Borgu Youth Development Association and Illo Progressive Development Forum.
The leaders said that although political boundaries have placed them under three different state governments, they remain one people bound by common history and culture. They, however, noted that they also share the same predicament of escalating insecurity and deepening infrastructure decay.
The groups began their address on a note of gratitude, recalling that since their last press conference over the abduction of people in Woro, Yashikira and other communities, the Federal Government working with Kwara and Niger State Governments and security agencies acted promptly. They reported that last week, security forces rescued 308 Nigerians who had been held captive in the forests of the Kainji Lake National Park, with 163 of them from Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area and 145 others from communities in Niger State.
They also acknowledged the release of seven members of the royal family of the Emir of Yashikira who had remained in captivity since the attack on his palace. The leaders commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, and the governments of Kwara and Niger for the operation, saying they were relieved that their brothers, sisters and children were back with their families after months of anguish.
The groups further expressed encouragement over the establishment of two new Battalions of the Nigerian Army in Baruten and Kaiama Local Government Areas of Kwara State. They noted that a high-powered delegation of top generals, senior security officials and representatives of the Kwara State Government recently visited both areas to inspect the proposed sites and reaffirm commitment to strengthening security. According to them, the representative of the Chief of Defence Staff assured that the battalions would commence operations immediately, describing it as another commendable step by President Tinubu and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
While celebrating the relief, the leaders commiserated with families of those killed by armed groups in Woro and other communities across Old Borgu over the last few years, saying their deaths must strengthen the resolve to end the crisis.
The groups, however, said the relief must not overshadow the crisis of road infrastructure, which they described as fueling the very violence their people are being rescued from. They said the Mokwa–New Bussa road currently stands as the only road officially linking their region to the rest of Nigeria, and that it is now being overrun by non-state armed groups who control long stretches of it to stage attacks and restrict movement.
They explained that without that road, the alternative is to cross the River Niger by canoe from Kebbi State to the north, or travel through Oyo State to the south, an arduous, costly and dangerous detour. They added that this isolation has cut families off from one another and severely hampered access to medical care, markets and education.
The leaders cited the Wawa–Kaiama Road, a segment of the Mokwa-Kaiama Road, which was awarded for reconstruction in 2018 with a four-year completion timeline but has been abandoned more than five years after. They said the contractor has long disappeared and it remains unclear whether the contract has been cancelled or forgotten. They also listed other federal roads across Old Borgu requiring urgent attention to include Kaiama–Kosubosu, Kaiama–Kishi, Saki–Chikanda, Wawa–Babanna, Wawa–Agwara–Rofia, Bagudo-Illo-Lolo and Yashikira–Babanna.
They lamented that while federal roads constitute the main arteries of their road network, state governments have historically declined to invest in them on the excuse that they fall under federal responsibility. This, they said, has left the region trapped in a road deficit for decades. They also noted that strategic state roads such as the Bode Sadu–Kaiama Road, which was being constructed by BUA Group under a concessionary tax arrangement, have been abandoned.
Building on demands from their last press conference, the groups called on the Federal Government to sustain efforts to rescue those still in captivity, including Barrister Ahmed Mohammed who was kidnapped along the Mokwa–New Bussa road on September 9, 2025. They also urged the Federal and State Governments to provide comprehensive rehabilitation and economic support for released victims, including trauma counselling, medical care, grants, skills training and livelihood support.
They further called on international development and humanitarian organisations to support thousands of displaced persons across the region and the host communities that have absorbed them with shelter, food security, healthcare, education and livelihood support.
On the Borgu Game Reserve, also known as Kainji Lake National Park, the groups said the government should either reduce it to a size that can be properly secured or open it up for regulated economic use by their people, noting that neglect has turned it into a sanctuary for armed criminal groups.
They demanded that the Federal Government reconstruct all major road networks across the region without further delay and that the contractor for the Mokwa–Kaiama Road be remobilized to site immediately. They added that it is a matter of national embarrassment that the road network in Borgou Province in the Republic of Benin is in far better condition than the roads of Nigeria’s own Borgu region.
In their final remarks, the leaders said they are grateful to the Federal Government and all stakeholders for the progress made with the release of the 308 victims and the establishment of two military battalions, but stressed that more ground must be covered. They said the rescue effort should be followed by actions that improve roads, security and livelihood, and that the Borgu people in Kwara, Niger and Kebbi States must no longer be left to fend for themselves at the margins of the nation to which they belong.