AbdulRazaq Seeks Collective Stakeholders’ Collaboration to Tackle Activities of Bandits in Kwara

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State yesterday stressed the need for various security agencies, government officials and local communities to synergize together to tackle the activities of bandits across the state.

Speaking in Ilorin while declaring open the Kwara State Police Security Summit, themed “Taking Back Our Communities: The Police-Public-Partnership Against Violent Crime,” the governor opined, “it is through a stronger collaboration among these agencies that can ensure effective policing and sustain peace across the state”.

Governor AbdulRazaq, at the event by his Special Adviser and Counsellor, Alhaji Sa’adudeen Salahu, said security remained a top priority of his administration, stressing that deliberate investments had been made to support security agencies in curbing crime and criminality.

According to him, the government had also adopted preventive measures by addressing socio-economic factors linked to insecurity, particularly youth unemployment.

“We are committed to supporting security agencies in the fight against crimes and criminality in Kwara State.

“This includes providing employment opportunities to about 10,000 youths to reduce idleness and, by extension, crime in the society,” he said.

The governor commended security agencies in the state for their contributions to maintaining law and order and expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu and the Office of the National Security Adviser for prioritising the security of lives and property in Kwara State and across the country.

AbdulRazaq also dismissed allegations linking the state government to a viral video purportedly showing criminals operating within the state.

“Under no circumstances has the Kwara State Government harboured or provided safe haven to bandits, contrary to claims being peddled in the widely circulated video,” he said.

Earlier, the Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, said the security summit was convened to bring together critical stakeholders to examine emerging security challenges and develop solutions through police–community partnership.

He explained the forum was designed to identify the causes and effects of insecurity and proffer both short- and long-term solutions by leveraging community policing initiatives.

Ojo acknowledged that banditry and kidnapping had affected parts of the state, particularly Ifelodun, Irepodun, Edu, Patigi, Baruten, Kaiama, Ekiti and Isin Local Government Areas.

“Lives have been cut short, families displaced, properties lost and progress stunted. Kwara, the state of harmony, deserves safety,” he said.

Delivering a lecture at the summit, a security expert and retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Adegboye Olafimihan, said security should not be viewed as the sole responsibility of government.

He identified factors such as banditry, kidnapping, drug abuse, farmer–herder conflicts and natural disasters as major contributors to insecurity, calling for improved policing strategies and effective management of security threats.

Olafimihan cautioned against ethnic stigmatisation, urging residents to embrace peaceful coexistence, while advocating the strengthening of community policing through active citizen participation and intelligence gathering.

The summit featured interactive sessions involving traditional rulers, youth groups, religious organisations and other security stakeholders, who offered suggestions on practical measures to tackle crime and criminality in Kwara State.