Kwara State Government Denies Arming Bandits, Dismisses Reports of Arrest by Soldiers as Misinformation

Linus Aleke, Abuja

The Kwara State Government has dismissed as false and misleading reports circulating on social media claiming that the Nigerian Army arrested armed bandits in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state, describing the claims as deliberate misinformation.

In a statement by the Commissioner for Communications, Mrs Bola Olukoju, the government clarified that no such arrest took place in Ifelodun or anywhere else in Kwara State. 

She stressed that the Nigerian Army did not apprehend any armed bandits within the state, contrary to the narratives being widely shared online.

Mrs Olukoju said the government had reviewed a viral video in which some arrested individuals alleged that a vehicle in their possession was supplied by the “Ilorin Government” and that weapons were given to them “from Abuja”. 

While investigations into the video and the circumstances surrounding the suspects are ongoing, she emphasised that the individuals shown were not arrested in Kwara State.

According to her, no security agency, including the Nigerian Army, reported any such arrest in Kwara.

Available information, she added, indicates that the suspects were apprehended in Auchi, Edo State, and further details are being awaited to establish the full facts.

The commissioner also refuted claims that the Kwara State Government armed any individuals, noting that no state government has the authority to distribute AK-47 rifles or similar weapons. 

She pointed out that, even in the video, the suspects did not state that the Kwara State Government provided them with any arms.

Addressing the issue of the vehicle mentioned in the video, Mrs Olukoju explained that the Ifelodun Local Government Authority had earlier deployed a security van to support local vigilantes as part of efforts to strengthen security in the area. 

Those vigilantes have since withdrawn from Ifelodun, but the local government had repeatedly reported that the vehicle was not returned to its pool.

She further called for stronger inter-agency coordination, intelligence sharing and cooperation among security agencies as essential measures in the fight against banditry and other violent crimes.

As security agencies continue to investigate the matter, the Kwara State Government urged members of the public, particularly online media platforms and bloggers, to refrain from spreading unverified information or distorting facts, warning that such actions pose a serious threat to public safety and peace.