A group, Global Information Team, has criticised the Kwara State Commissioner of Police over his reported remarks on the alleged abduction of 176 women and children from Woro community, describing his comments as insensitive and misleading.
The group accused the police commissioner of downplaying the scale of the incident, insisting that the security chief could not be better informed than the affected community and the Kaiama Local Government Area where the incident allegedly occurred.
In a statement, the group said the local government had produced notable public officers, including a former Commissioner of Police, a former Chief Registrar of the Sharia Court of Appeal, a former Federal Civil Service Commissioner and an Air Commodore, among other distinguished personalities.
It argued that such a community could not fabricate claims of a mass abduction.
The statement also accused the Kwara State Police Command of initially denying the presence of suspected Mahmuda terrorists in Kaiama and Baruten before subsequent developments allegedly confirmed their activities.
“Our background findings from the onset indicted the Kwara State Police Command from the advent of the Mahmuda terrorists when the spokesperson of the command openly denied their presence in both Kaiama and Baruten until other findings proved otherwise,” the statement read.
The group said it was therefore not surprised by the commissioner’s reported claim that only 10 persons were abducted.
“Were those abducted to be members of his family, would he say so?” it asked.
The organisation appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to intervene and call the commissioner to order.
It further alleged that the Kwara State Police Command had shown weakness in tackling insecurity, claiming that special security squads had previously been deployed to Kaiama by the immediate past Inspector-General of Police following the Woro invasion.
“If the CP lacks the capabilities to rescue the abductees, let him look for other things to say,” the statement added.
The group urged security agencies to prioritise the rescue of the alleged 176 women and children, saying the operation should be treated as a humanitarian emergency.
It maintained that the police should focus on rescuing victims rather than disputing the number of those allegedly abducted.