The Take It Back Movement has condemnaed the silence of Nigeria’s security agencies following the emergence of a disturbing video showing the torture of abducted children and a Point-of-Sale (POS) operator in a forest in Kwara State.
The viral footage, which has sparked outrage on social media, shows visibly traumatized young victims being beaten and dehumanized by terrorists who are reportedly demanding a ransom of ₦50 million from the victims’ families for their release.
Reacting to the video in a tweet on Thursday, August 31, 2025, the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Comrade Sanyaolu Juwon, condemned the inaction of security agencies including the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force, accusing them of hypocrisy and selective deployment of security technology.
“This is such a terrible sight to behold. The @OfficialDSSNG and @PoliceNG is suddenly mute, unable to deploy tracking devices used in hounding after those engaging in lawful protests,” Juwon wrote
He added that the act has become a “pattern of negligence” by Nigerian authorities, where urgent and life-threatening cases involving terrorism and kidnapping are met with silence, while state apparatus is swiftly mobilized against peaceful demonstrators and critics of government policies.
This development adds to the growing concerns about the worsening state of insecurity in Nigeria and the apparent inability or unwillingness of authorities to address the threat posed by terrorists and bandits across the country.
In a recent report made available by SaharaReporters, a Point of Sale (POS) agent popularly known as Yman and others were kidnapped in two separate incidents in Kwara North in late June 2025.
In the newly released video, the visibly emaciated victims decry the harsh conditions they have been subjected to in captivity, describing their ordeal as torturous and inhumane.
“Nigerians should help me. Please I am dying here,” the POS operator cried out in the video, appearing weak and distressed.
“We have sold all our properties to raise the ransom demanded by the terrorists to free us. We are pleading with the government to come to our aid. We are suffering. We don’t have anything to eat.”
The children, speaking in Nupe, echoed the same agony and desperation, stating that the kidnappers allowed them to beg for public support.
“These are our brothers who are currently in the captivity of kidnappers,” said a family source who spoke to SaharaReporters.Family vacation packages
“They are pleading for help, financial assistance, to meet the ransom demand and secure their freedom. The total amount required is ₦50,000,000. Despite having sold their houses, cars, and other possessions, the amount raised is still far from sufficient,” the family source added.
SaharaReporters in June also detailed how armed bandits carried out coordinated raids in the Lafiagi and Kokodo areas of Kwara State.
The POS attendant was seized on a Sunday night in Lafiagi, while the two boys were kidnapped the following morning during a raid on Kokodo village.
A young girl who was with them narrowly escaped by fleeing into the nearby bushes.
A community leader who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity at the time said, “The attacks are becoming too rampant. The POS guy was kidnapped on Sunday evening, and now, this morning, the two other people, who are Hausa, were also kidnapped this Monday morning.”Family vacation packages
The increasing cases of abduction follow the earlier kidnapping of a prominent agro-chemical dealer, Alhaji Chemical, from his residence in Taiwo area, Lafiagi. Witnesses said the attackers arrived on motorcycles and outgunned local vigilantes before abducting him.
The Kwara State Police Command had also confirmed two separate fatal attacks that left three people dead in Mari and Lile villages under Lade district of Patigi Local Government Area on June 25.
The victims were identified as 35-year-old Timothy Paul, 51-year-old Alhaji Abdullahi Shehu, and his 22-year-old son, Abdullahi Muhammad.
According to a police statement signed by spokesperson SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the victims were confirmed dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital.
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