WORSENING INSECURITY IN KWARA STATE

Security agencies could do more to contain the violence

In the past few weeks, several communities in Kwara State have been experiencing a surge in banditry, terrorist attacks and killings, triggering fear among the populace. On 23 September, suspected terrorists launched a midnight raid on Maganiko Ndanangi community in Edu Local Government Area, abducting a woman and a teenage girl. Less than a week after, on 28 September, armed bandits murdered no fewer than 15 members of a local forest guard and others in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area. 

 The violence, particularly on communities in both Kwara North and South, has heightened tension across the state, with many residents fleeing their homes in panic. A disturbed former Senate President Bukola Saraki said Kwara is in a “precarious state, overrun by bandits, kidnappers, and killers who have waged a careless onslaught on the people”. In response to the armed attacks, the Nigerian Air Force ordered fighter jets to support ground forces and provide reconnaissance cover to aid troops in stemming the violence. 

 Kwara, the ‘State of Harmony’, is in serious distress. The state has been under siege by all stripes of criminals, who are sacking communities, killing, kidnapping families, and disrupting the socio-economic activities of the people. Many are increasingly finding it difficult to access their farms, while markets, health centres are shutting down out of fear. According to reports, more than 200 individuals from major towns in Kwara South have been kidnapped, with Ifelodun being the hardest hit. While commiserating with the bereaved families last week, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq condemned the recurring attacks, and admitted that “a lot more must be done to protect the people.”

There have also been a string of abductions and killings in Edu, Patigi, and Moro local government areas in recent weeks, underlining the growing wave of insecurity in Kwara North. A coalition of Nupe group in the state noted that the poor roads in Kwara North are a boon to banditry, stressing that the Patigi–Gbugbu–Lafiagi–Tsaragi–Bacita road had become a death trap where criminals operate freely on motorbikes. Consequently, many people are being forced to relocate as a result of security concerns. The Kwara NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp at Yikpata in Edu local government area has been temporarily relocated to the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin to ensure the safety and welfare of the corps members.

The upsurge in violence in the state is linked to the increased reported movement of armed groups into Kwara earlier this year through northern entry points. Some of the states like Kogi and Ekiti which share borders with Kwara, and others like Ondo and Oyo are increasingly worried following the surge in violence in Kwara State. Indeed, security chiefs in Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States said recently that they had activated various containment strategies to prevent the infiltration of their states by bandits. “Our leaders and followers should not take the issue of security for granted,” said the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade. “They should ensure urgent and immediate steps are taken to respond to current threats by consciously building a system that guarantees peace and stability, conducive to national development”.

The army headquarters has reportedly directed the general officer commanding (GOC) 2 division of the Nigerian Army, Ibadan, to relocate to Kwara to coordinate and boost military response. As it is, Kwara has joined the expanding league of states like Benue, Katsina, Plateau, Niger, and others with high criminal elements threatening the people and the peace. And as the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa remarked last week at Jaji, the only thing the security forces must do “is to look for the bad guys and take them out.” That is the only way we can have peace.