Many residents of Kwara State have been living in extreme fear following recurring rates of kidnapping, banditry and killings across different communities of the state.
This development has become a great concern for stakeholders in the state even as security agencies continue to give residents assurances.
However, checks by The Point revealed that the more efforts by security agencies to tackle insecurity, the higher the rate of abductions, killings and other forms of criminalities in the state.
The recent murder of the commandant of a vigilante group, Chief Lukman Balogun, in Igbaja community in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, brought to fore the alarming level of insecurity in the community.
Balogun, who was until his death the Jagun of Igbaja land, was killed by kidnappers believed to be itinerant herdsmen who invaded the community penultimate Sunday and abducted three people the next day while another two people were reportedly kidnapped from Kajola village in the early hours of Tuesday.
The coordinator of Kwara South Elders Security Forum, Elder Olaitan Oyin-Zubair, who confirmed the abduction of five people from the communities, added that the late commandant was killed during the exchange of fire between the vigilantes and the kidnappers while attempting to rescue the kidnapped victims in the forest.
Residents of Igbaja, consisting of women, men and youths, stormed the palace of their traditional ruler, Elese of Igbaja land, Oba Ahmed Babalola Arepo III, to protest Balogun’s murder allegedly by the Bororo cattle herders.
The protesters, who blocked roads and wielded leaves, accused the monarch of indulging the Bororos cattle rearers, asking him to announce their banishment from the community.
They said they could no longer access their farmlands because of fear of being abducted.
According to one of the protesters, who simply identified himself as Seun, “The Bororos killed our Jagun while he was trying to rescue those they kidnapped from our community. There is no longer protection for us because this Jagun has been the only one taking steps to wage war against these criminals. We are afraid of going to farms now.
“We came to the palace because we want our king to ban them from coming into the community. We believe this is the only way we can easily stop infiltration of criminals in our community. We doubt if our Kabiesi will do anything serious because some of these Bororos sometimes visit the palace to give him cows.”
Addressing the protesters, Oba Babalola charged them to be calm, describing Jagun’s death as a big blow to Igbaja.
He assured the youths that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would be apprehended and brought to book.
The chairman of the state’s Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Afolabi Lukman, described the late local security commandant as a thorn in the flesh of criminals in the area.
He urged the state government to strengthen the security frontiers, saying, “This is a great setback on the state’s security architecture.”
Similarly, the National President, Isolo Opin Development Association in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, Joseph Alaba Kumuyi, raised the alarm over the incessant banditry and kidnapping attacks on the people of the town by suspected gunmen.
Kumuyi, therefore, said that the development has led to the fleeing of many farmers in the town from their farms adding that it is high time the federal government deployed more armed security agents to the community in order not to hinder food production in the country.
In an open letter to the state governor, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, a prominent leader in Kwara South, Nasiru Ariyibi lamented escalating insecurity in the state, especially in Kwara South, urging him to implement a comprehensive and coordinated security plan involving all relevant stakeholders, including the seven local government chairmen, royal fathers, community leaders, opinion leaders, security agencies, vigilante groups, and other key figures.
He said, “Only through a united and coordinated effort can we effectively address the growing menace of kidnappings and banditry that have disrupted our communities.”
“The boldness of these criminals is unprecedented—they even send written warnings to communities, announcing their attacks. This level of insecurity is unacceptable, and we can no longer live in fear. We have full confidence in your leadership and commitment to the safety of all Kwarans, and we believe that with your timely intervention, peace and order can be restored,” Ariyibi charged the governor.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Femi Yusuf, who led a delegation to the area, commiserated with the community on the death of Jagun, and assured them that all hands would be on deck to track down the kidnappers who were the killers of the late chief.
