The spate of kidnappings and cowardly attacks on lives and property in Kwara State lately is eroding its reputation as state of harmony. Kidnapping incidents, which began as isolated cases in parts of Kwara South some years ago, have now assumed an astonishing dimension.
Initially, the bandits and kidnappers had restricted their activities to the part of the state around Ekiti, Oke-Ero, Ifelodun, Isin and Irepodun local government areas in Kwara South. However, the criminals have extended their tentacles to Patigi and Edu local government areas in Kwara North.
Patigi and Edu are communities on the border between Kwara and Niger states, giving rise to widespread belief that the criminal elements flushed out from Niger State by security agents might have find a new abode in Kwara North forests from where they are now unleashing fear and terror.
Since last year or so, the bandits have become more daring, abducting, killing and maiming scores of innocent people in the state.
About one year ago, some gunmen had invaded the palace of Onikoro of Koro, Ekiti Local Government Area, shooting the monarch, a retired army general, dead. Since then, the area has witnessed series of attacks by bandits and kidnappings accompanied with demands for ransom payment.
The latest in the series was last Sunday’s early morning attacks on Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area where a monarch and 11 vigilance members were gruesomely dispatched into early graves.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after former Senate President Bukola Saraki lamented the precarious security situation in the state.
Confirming the attack, the spokesperson of Kwara State Police Command, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said: ‘At about 7 am on Sunday, armed men invaded the Ogbayo area of Oke-Ode, shooting sporadically.
‘A combined team of police operatives and members of the National Forest Security Service responded swiftly to the scene, where they discovered 12 lifeless bodies of vigilante members, including the Baale of Ogbayo.
‘The victims sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Additionally, four persons who sustained injuries were immediately taken to hospital for treatment, while the deceased were evacuated.
‘Prior to this, some bandits had invaded Motokun, a village in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State. The invaders came on 50 motorcycles and attacked the village around 6 am. The operation, it was gathered, lasted for four hours.
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The state’s Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, said ‘Matokun village was attacked by bandits on about 50 motorcycles, six people missing, suspected to have been kidnapped.
‘A woman suspected to have been hit by a gunshot eventually died from the injuries.’
In a related development, the police chief said bandits killed a police officer in Agboro, Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.
‘The assailants targeted a private company. In the course of the attack, one police officer gallantly lost his life in active service, while properties within the facility were also vandalized.’
Earlier in August, bandits had also allegedly attacked Babanla, also in Ifelodun LGA, killing four persons and carting away goods and wares from the market.
Scores of residents of the agrarian community fled their homes and sought refuge in Amoyo, a community on Ilorin outskirts.
Empathising with his subjects, Babanla’s monarch, Oba Adegboyega Yusuf Alabi, said: ‘Today, I speak with a heavy heart. On Friday, the 8th of August, our dear Babanla was struck by a cruel attack. Bandits invaded our land, leaving sorrow and destruction behind.
‘We lost four precious souls, many hardworking traders lost their goods, shops were looted, hotels were destroyed, and countless youths who depend on their motorcycles for daily bread were stripped of their means of survival.
‘These wounds cut deep into the very fabric of our community.
‘As the Chief Security Officer of Babanla, I feel the pain of every family that has lost a loved one, every mother who now weeps, every father whose hope has been shaken, every youth whose hope has been dashed, and every household now living in fears.
‘Though our efforts have been tireless, I admit with regret that we have not yet been able to fully shield you from these evils. But I assure you, peace will be restored.
‘With the approval and support of government, and with the bravery of our hunters, vigilantes and the unyielding resilience of our people, we shall prevail.
‘For those kidnapped, let it be known that since day one, necessary steps have been taken. Security operatives and community leaders have worked tirelessly, though for security reasons, details cannot be disclosed here.
‘Therefore, I plead with all those invited by security operatives, those interrogated, and those living in fear to come forward with useful information that can aid our fight against insecurity.
‘Do not see it as a burden, but as your role in saving our community, and be assured that anyone found guilty of collaborating with criminals will face the full weight of the law.’
The Chairman, Ifelodun Local Government Council, Hadji Femi Yusuf, said as part of activities to surmount the growing challenge of banditry and kidnapping in the area, his administration had employed and trained no fewer than 100 forest guards.
He said: ‘I call on stakeholders to start praying for our land in these trying times of security instability. I urge them to set aside politics and come together to pray for lasting peace, security and prosperity of Ifelodun Local Government Area and Kwara State as a whole.
‘On security, we procured 20 motorcycles to support local security outfits, employed and trained 100 forest guards, enrolled them in the state Health Insurance Scheme.
‘We also supplied 50 units of bulletproof vests and provided them with modern security gadgets.
‘We institutionalised a non-indigenous registration drive to have accurate data of all residents of the local government.
‘While commending the traditional council for their timely collaboration with the state government to chase out non-state actors from our land, we have continued to carry them along in our administration.’
Commenting on the wave of banditry, a security expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, put the blame at the doorstep of the state government.
He said: ‘The governor should demonstrate a measure of seriousness and political will to root out the criminals.
‘This can be done through establishment of military outposts in those hotspots of the bandits and then deploy a joint team of army and air force personnel.
That will instill fear in those cowardly elements and they will flee. They are no match with the military.
‘That is my candidate submission.
‘As the chief security officer of the state, the buck stops at his table to defend the citizens by liaising with the presidency.
‘He should act fast before things get out of hand.’
Disturbed by the sordid development, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has declared that his administration will fight insecurity in the state with all the resources at its disposal.
The governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to protecting lives and property across the state, saying that nowhere in the state would be safe for criminal elements, including kidnappers.
The governor, who spoke after a security council meeting, said:
‘The Army Headquarters has since relocated the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Division to Ilorin as part of the renewed efforts to strengthen security operations in the state.
‘On Monday night, combined forces of the Army, DSS and Police launched an offensive around Baba Sango, along the Kwara/Kogi border, neutralising about 15 armed bandits.
‘The same operation continued on Tuesday. And yesterday night, I presided over the State Security Council meeting at Ahmadu Bello House, Ilorin, to integrate state and federal assets into a single strategy for both Kwara North and South.’
Governor AbdulRazaq assured Kwara residents that his administration would not relent in supporting security agencies to keep every community safe.
‘I have assurances of the security forces to smoke out and eliminate the criminals from their hideouts.
‘We will fight insecurity with every resource at our disposal. Kwara will not be a hiding place for criminals.
‘To any criminal who seeks to destabilise the peace in Kwara, you may run, but you cannot escape justice.
‘Kwara belongs to its people, and their peace will be defended,’ the governor added.
Already, joint security agents have heightened operations in some of the affected Lgs.
Therefore, the state government has urged residents of the state, especially people around Ekiti, Ifelodun, Isin, Oke Ero, and Irepodun LGAs, to be vigilant and restrict outdoor activities as much as possible in the interim.
The advisory followed heightened operations by combined security forces in border towns in Kogi and Kwara, where kidnappers are believed to have hibernated.
‘We urge people to be very vigilant and limit their movements to only very necessary routines. That is to avoid being caught unawares as the kidnappers are fleeing their hideouts.
‘We do not want law-abiding citizens to be affected,’ according to a statement by the Commissioner for Communications Bolanle Olukoju.
She said the government regrets the temporary inconveniences the limited movement may cause in the nearby areas.
‘We commend the security forces for the renewed efforts to route the criminals, and charge them to continue until they are totally neutralised and flushed out of our forests,’ she added.
As a result, it was gathered that a notorious kidnapper Maidawa, others have been eliminated during an Isanlu Isin engagement with security forces.
A security source said ‘communications intercepted from the marauding kidnappers revealed that a notorious kidnapper known as Maidawa and many of his foot soldiers have been eliminated in an encounter with joint security forces around Isanlu-Isin in Kwara State.
‘The engagement occurred on September 30 as security forces pressed forward the operation to rout the criminals, according to information intercepted by the state security service.
‘The news of Maidawa’s death was broken to other gang members by another wanted kidnapper Baccujo around Igboro-Idofin Road during a conversation with his associates in faraway Marabar Maigora, Sabuwa LGA of Katsina State.
‘Security forces, spurred by new calls of the state government for urgent interventions, have ratcheted up the efforts to dislodge the kidnappers who often launch cowardly attacks on civilian populations and abduct people for ransom.
‘The operations are phased to cover every area where incidents have been recorded in recent weeks, including Ekiti, Ifelodun, Isin, Edu, and Patigi.’
The parlous security situation has pitted former Senate President Bukola Saraki against Governor AbdulRazaq. Senator Saraki had lashed out at Governor AbdulRazaq for his alleged nonchalant attitude towards the rising insecurity in the state.
But the governor countered, saying the former Kwara State governor did not have any moral grounds to sermonise about insecurity in the state.
Saraki, shortly after the conclusion of the state congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ilorin, said ‘the theme of the congress showcased Kwara PDP as a platform of responsible, responsive, and compassionate political leaders who will always show empathy for the plight of the people.
‘Today, Kwara State is in a precarious state. Our State is being overrun by bandits, kidnappers, and killers who have waged a ceaseless, needless, and careless onslaught on our people.
‘Yet, the government in Kwara State and all the people in governance in the state have maintained a posture of apathy, nonchalance, and a carefree attitude.
‘The people in government have watched without a clue on how to stop the violence waged against our people by insurgents.
‘Every day, the story from Kwara State in the national media is about killings, kidnappings, and the displacement of people from their communities.
‘In the last 12 months, about 70 people have been reportedly killed in Kwara North and South while about 50 people have sustained various forms of injury from the assailants.
‘Within the same period, about 42 people have been kidnapped. Also, over 25 communities have been sacked as the residents abandoned their homes in the same period.
‘Under the present government, Kwara State is becoming a one-town-state as everybody in the northern and southern senatorial zones is converging on Ilorin to escape becoming the next victims of the spate of insecurity.
‘It has never been this bad in our state known as the State of Harmony. The state government is living in denial and trying to suppress the facts, figures, and scenarios from coming out.
‘They focus on accusing the opposition, which has been alerting the Federal Government and security agencies of the danger that now lurks in our communities, of playing politics with security.
‘No responsible citizen or party will play politics with the danger to the lives and livelihood of people.
‘But as responsible politicians and political platforms who want to genuinely serve our people, we will not keep quiet. We will continue to alert the national and international communities about the danger that daily confronts our people.
‘We will continue to urge the people who can help to come to the rescue of the Kwara people.’
He added: ‘The spate of killings, kidnappings, and the collapse of the security system in Kwara State is unprecedented.
‘We never witnessed anything of this sort since the creation of the state.
‘Either during the military era, during the tenure of my predecessors, in my time as governor, or during the period of my immediate successor as elected governors, has this type of terrible occurrence ever happened in Kwara State?
‘Why does this government continue to fail the people by folding its arms and being complacent about the security of lives and property?
‘It should be noted that this spate of security crises is just festering in Kwara State to the exclusion of its neighbours. Insurgency is no longer a menace in Niger State.
‘The state government working with security agencies there has chased the criminals out.
‘This is just a reflection of the clueless and lackadaisical government we have in Kwara State.
But Governor AbdulRazaq, through his Special Adviser on Media, Bashir Adigun, described Saraki’s accusation of nonchalance as shameless and false.
Adigun said: ‘For the avoidance of doubt, Saraki is the least qualified person to speak on security matters in Kwara State.
‘Under his political empire, Kwarans lived in fear of cult killings, kidnappings and the notorious reign of terror unleashed by ‘Good Boys’ and political thugs loyal to his dynasty.
‘It is laughable that a man whose era institutionalised violence and thuggery now pretends to be a security advocate.
‘Instead of offering condolences to victims of criminal attacks, Saraki has chosen to play cheap politics with human lives – a shameful display of insensitivity.
‘Must we remind him that insecurity today is a national scourge? Bandits fleeing military bombardments in the North West often spill into North Central states like Kwara.
‘This is not peculiar to Kwara and certainly not a result of government indifference. If anything, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has shown more commitment to securing our state than Saraki ever did in his years of political dominance.
‘Unlike Saraki, Governor AbdulRazaq is not breeding thugs; he is equipping security agencies with patrol vehicles, gadgets, and logistics.
‘He is empowering forest guards, vigilantes, and local hunters to defend our communities.
‘He is working hand in hand with the Army, Police, Air Force, and Civil Defence to flush out criminals.
‘Only recently, following the Governor’s advocacy, the Army Headquarters has directed the GOC Ibadan to relocate to Kwara to lead operations against the bandits.
‘Equally important, the AbdulRazaq administration understands that development is the best antidote to insecurity.
‘That is why schools, hospitals, roads, and water projects are springing up across the state. That is why thousands of youths have been employed and empowered.
‘These are tangible results Kwarans can see and feel. Saraki should be the last to cry wolf.
‘His close ally, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, openly confessed in 2022 that the insecurity Nigeria battles today was worsened by foreign militias imported into the country for elections in 2015 by Saraki’s political camp.
‘Today, those same foreigners are terrorizing Nigerians.
‘This is the dirty foundation of the problem, and Saraki knows it.
‘Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq will never play politics with the lives of Kwarans. He will continue to stand with our people, work with security agencies, and invest in the future of our state.
‘Saraki’s attempt to rewrite history and feign concern is nothing but a failed propaganda stunt.
Kwarans know better.’