Residents lament rising wave of killings, kidnappings as vigilantes battle heavily armed attackers while police struggle for answers
By Daniel Ayantoye
Grief and fear hang heavy over Rore, a once-peaceful community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, where armed men stormed through the night, killing 41-year-old security guard, Wale Ajiboye, and leaving behind his widow and five children.
On a faded plastic chair inside her dimly lit living room, Shade Ajiboye clutched her youngest child—a baby girl barely a year old—her face streaked with tears.
> “I never knew he would not return. He did not tell me this is how he would die,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Where will I start from with five children?”
Ajiboye, described by neighbours as a diligent breadwinner, was gunned down at his post. His widow’s grief captures the raw human toll of the growing wave of violence now sweeping through Kwara—widows left destitute, children fatherless, and entire communities living under siege.
When our correspondent visited Rore, the silence was deafening. Doors were bolted before dusk, the streets deserted, and conversations hushed. The once-bustling town now lives in dread of the next attack.
“It is a terrible thing,” said Pastor Mike Oyedepo, president of the Rore Development Association. “Even those who planned to come home for ceremonies are cancelling. People are calling me, saying they won’t return because of fear. We are praying government will come to our aid.”
But prayers alone appear inadequate. Security in Rore, and much of rural Kwara, rests largely on vigilantes and hunters armed with Dane guns—no match for the sophisticated rifles of the assailants.
A vigilante, speaking anonymously, revealed:
> “We go into the forests, but the police and NSCDC often say it’s not their job. If only we had weapons like these criminals, things would be different. They strike late at night and disappear.”
The violence is not confined to Rore. In Kajola, Oke-Ero LGA, once-busy roads are now abandoned after dusk.
“From 6 pm, we no longer use the Kajola–Erinmope–Odo-Owa Road,” said Olaniyi Ayo, a commercial driver. “Kidnappers have taken over. They target you, abduct you, and demand millions.”
The grim roll call of incidents continues:
June 4: Two police officers killed in Oreke-Okeigbo, Ifelodun LGA; a Chinese national and a Nigerian abducted.
June 22: Three killed in Okuta, Baruten LGA, during a midnight raid.
Patigi: A PDP ward chairman, his son, and another villager murdered; 12-year-old Hassana Abdullahi kidnapped.
August: Two killed in Ganmu village; three abducted at Isanlu-Isin; 45-year-old Alhaji Dahiru murdered inside a mosque during evening prayers.
The Fulani community has also been under siege. Their leader in Rore, Tairu Abdullahi, recalled:
> “They come between 7 pm and 7:30 pm. My father and brother were once kidnapped. Even when we set ambush with hunters, they escaped, though some victims were freed.”
Despite repeated police assurances, little has changed. The Kwara Police Command insists tactical teams are combing forests and intelligence units are probing networks of bandits.
SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the Command’s spokesperson, confirmed ongoing investigations and discreet directives from the Commissioner of Police. Yet, attempts to get concrete updates from earlier cases have yielded silence.
Meanwhile, rural communities remain in despair, their fate resting on crude rifles, whispered prayers, and fading hope.
For widows like Shade Ajiboye, that silence is more than unbearable—it is deadly.
PIONEER NEWS 