By Vanguardngr.com
Kwara State is fast becoming the latest theatre of blood, fear, and chaos as armed bandits tighten their grip on nine local government areas, abducting residents, killing farmers, and demanding ransom in cash, cattle, food, and even drinks.
Despite spirited efforts by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration to fortify security across the state, a wave of unrelenting attacks in both northern and southern Kwara has left villages deserted, businesses ruined, and families devastated.
Nine LGAs Held Hostage
While the Ilorin emirate councils — Ilorin East, West, South, Asa, Moro — and parts of Offa and Oyun remain relatively untouched, the remaining nine LGAs have become a hunting ground for kidnappers and killers.
The crisis, which began over four years ago in Edu, Patigi, Baruten, and Kaiama, has since spiraled into a statewide nightmare. Sources reveal that the armed gangs, some of whom have lived in Kwara’s dense forests for nearly three decades, abandoned farming and embraced kidnapping as a quicker path to fortune — turning overnight into multi-millionaires.
Villages in Flames
Edu LGA has borne the brunt of recent horrors: a woman abducted in Kpanpkanragi, four residents kidnapped in Gamalegi, a businessman snatched in Tsaragi, and a newlywed butchered in Bokungi as rustlers made away with hundreds of cows.
In Patigi, gunmen stormed Motokun and Agboro, kidnapping six and shooting six others. The violence spilled into Kwara South, where two were abducted in Babanla, Ifelodun LGA — shockingly, just days after the Governor’s visit.
The deadliest blow yet came last Sunday in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun, where no fewer than 12 lives — including 11 forest guards and a community head — were cut down in a dawn massacre. Residents accuse the Department of State Services (DSS) of stripping vigilantes of weapons just days before the onslaught, a claim the government has strenuously denied.
A viral video from Oke-Ode shows a grieving woman weeping over her slain husband and brother-in-law, blaming the DSS for disarming locals and leaving them vulnerable. The state government dismissed her claim as “false but understandable in grief.”
Governor AbdulRazaq’s spokesperson, Rafiu Ajakaiye, said: “We pray to God to console the bereaved woman — and every other one — but her claim is not true.”
In a fierce counterattack, the Nigerian Air Force launched coordinated strikes across Kakihun, Oke-Ode, Babanla, and surrounding forests, eliminating scores of fighters, including a notorious kingpin known as Maiwada. Reconnaissance flights continue as security agencies gather intelligence to dismantle the hideouts.
Yet, locals insist the odds remain stacked against them. Forest guards armed with dane guns face bandits wielding AK-47s, while bureaucracy delays timely intervention from the military.
“Many businesses and lives have been ruined in the process of rescuing loved ones,” lamented one resident. “Government must rise to its duty. We cannot keep burying our people.”
Governor AbdulRazaq, after a security council meeting in Ilorin, vowed: “Kwara will never be a safe haven for criminals. We will fight this menace with every resource at our disposal.”
But for now, in villages across Kwara’s forests, fear is the only currency that circulates freely — and bandits continue to dictate the price.
PIONEER NEWS 