BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
There have been increased cases of kidnapping in Oko-Olowo, a community in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State and Madi town of Ilorin. Kidnappers had made millions of naira from their victims ranging from businessmen, industrialists, professionals, government officials among others in the towns.
Residents of the towns have been living in fear while commercial activities have been paralyzed in the areas, which are in the outskirts of Ilorin, the state capital, owing to security concerns.
The situation was so devastating that kidnappers invaded people’s homes to abduct them for ransom.
In August, this year, the daughter of a popular female musician in Ilorin, Kehinde Ejide, was kidnapped at her Oko-Olowo residence. It was reported that the victim, Sulia, (nee Alhaja Saka Onikolobo), was abducted at her residence at about 3am on August 14.
The kidnappers were said to be looking for the husband of the victim but took the wife away when they didn’t meet her husband at home.
Adopting similar tactics, some gunmen, in November 2022, invaded Oko-Olowo and kidnapped three persons.
The victims were a young cleric, Alfa Sofiu Amolegbe, his son, Aliyu, and his sibling, Fansasi. They were abducted at their private residence in Oko-Olowo along Ilorin- Jebba expressway in Moro Local Government area of Kwara State.
The suspected kidnappers were said to have removed the burglary of a window in the building through which they gained access into the room and abducted the three people at gunpoint.
These and many more attacks had been carried out in the towns while residents had called on the state government to provide security and fortify the community against abductors.
Meanwhile, the panicking residents have been heaving sighs of relief following the construction of an ultra-modern police station at Madi, an area that linked a part of the heartland of Ilorin to Oko-Olowo.
On November 21, 2022, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alikali Baba had commissioned the police station, saying that it is well furnished and also has a modern barrack for personnel.
The Point reliably gathered that the choice of Madi for the security facility was not unconnected with increasing cases of kidnappings in the communities.
Baba, while speaking after commissioning the project, had said that the new police station was built to bring policing closer to the people and expressed hope that the personnel that would be working there would be motivated to be dedicated to their duties.
The police boss had said, “the Police would work under a conducive environment in terms of office environment, decent accommodation and that would enable them to provide more services. They would be here 24/7. Very close to the office is the house and vice versa. We expect there would be more dedication and more motivation. We expect that service delivery would be enhanced.”
However, residents of the areas have expressed optimism that the structure would serve as one of the means of tackling insecurity, especially kidnapping, which has become a thriving business.
Sampling reactions of dwellers of the areas, a resident of Madi community who simply identified himself as Abdulkareem, said the new station has brought peace to the terror-ridden community.
Abdulkareem said, “The problems that inhabitants of this community faced are unprecedented. It made us lose peace. I understand the essence of bringing this huge opportunity; it is to contain attacks from kidnappers and evil doers. I must commend the hard work of our incomparable governor (Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq) for making it up to us.”
Also speaking, a commercial motorcycle rider in the community who identified himself as Taju, expressed happiness about the development as he added that the siting of a police station in the community has ameliorated crimes and fears in the community.
“When I noticed that the government has built a police station in this area, I felt so happy and started feeling peace of mind,” he said.
He continued, “Honestly, we were always scared of this community, especially at night. Whenever it’s 5pm, I don’t usually carry passengers in this area, but now that the police station is here, I can be able to work at any time freely.”
Mrs. Abike, a former resident of Madi disclosed how fear of insecurity made her stop the construction of her house in Madi community.
“I had an uncompleted building in this area; I stopped the construction due to the kidnapping news about the area. I am now happy that measures have been taken to protect the community,” Abike said.
For Taiwo, he used to park his car in another street to prevent it from being stolen.
He said, “I now have peace of mind by having police men near my house and they are ready to secure us and our properties,” said the man.
Meanwhile, some residents have urged the Kwara State Government to urgently construct good roads in the areas.
One of them, Yekini, said with motor-able roads, kidnapping would be made difficult, adding that, “I am happy and sad about the police station at the same time. Not that I am not happy about the police station because it will solve our long time problem of kidnapping, but the road linking the community to the police station is not motor able.
“If the station’s road is poor, how do you think the security personnel will secure us?” he asked rhetorically.
Another resident of the community, Lukman, corroborated Yekini’s assertion saying, “It has been a while that Madi road has been damaged but there was nobody to come to our aid. Sometimes ago, the bridge that linked the road also collapsed and everyone in the community was struggling to move about in their cars. The bridge was later repaired after a year, but nothing is being done on the road until now.
“I hope the government will do something on the road now due to the new police station built there. The road is in bad condition and it can even make a woman lose her pregnancy if care is not taken.”
Another resident who craved anonymity said the Madi community association has, on behalf of the residents, reached out to the Kwara State Government, saying that, “their (government) response was that we should be patient and pray for a better Kwara.”
“The state government told us that work will start on the road soon. They said we should just give them some time, that it is not only our road that is damaged, that there are many places that are in bad shape even more than ours. We hope they remember it soon,” he said.
