PDP Decries Assault on Women Protesting Incessant Bandit Attacks in Kwara

     Hammed Shittu in Ilorin 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kwara State Chapter has decried the purported assault by people suspected to be thugs on the women from Ifelodun local government area of the state who staged a peaceful protest over the incessant bandits and kidnappers attacks in the local government.

Some women from Oke Ode, Agbeku, Babanla and Adanla towns in Ifelodun local government area of the state last week staged a peaceful protest in Ilorin to call on the state government to redouble their efforts and come to their aid on the incessant attacks by the people suspected to be bandits and kidnappers in the town..

The protesters said that many of them had become widows in the area due to attacks.

They however called on the state government to redouble efforts to rescue them from the incessant attacks by bandits and kidnappers in the area.

The protest was later marred by attacks by some suspected thugs that attacked them with canes to drive them away from the protest and this has continued to create controversy among the stakeholders in the state.

However, the opposition party, PDP in a statement issued in Ilorin on Monday decried the purported attacks by the suspected thugs on the women that staged the peaceful protest by some suspected thugs in the state.

The statement which was signed by the state party’s Publicity Secretary, Hon. Olusegun Adewara, stated, “We condemned in the strongest terms the brutal, inhumane, and utterly disgraceful assault unleashed on helpless women and children who staged a peaceful protest at the Kwara State Government House in Ilorin over the worsening insecurity in their communities”.

The statement stated, “These women , mostly aged mothers, wives of kidnapped victims, and their children from Oke Ode, Agbeku, Babanla , Adanla and other communities in Ifelodun LG came to Kwara State Government House as a last resort.

“They came crying, pleading, and begging the government to intervene in securing the release of their loved ones who have been held hostage by bandits for weeks, with outrageous ransom demands running into tens of millions of naira.

“The Kwara PDP considers videos circulating in the public space which show these women lamenting in Yoruba how their husbands were kidnapped over a month ago, how entire communities have been deserted, how families have sold all they own and exhausted all options, yet the kidnappers continue to demand ransoms they cannot afford as deeply heart-breaking

“However, instead of compassion, reassurance, or even basic engagement, these traumatized citizens were met with violence.

“It is unacceptable that thugs reportedly descended on these peaceful protesters with canes and other weapons, beating, stripping, and forcefully dispersing them in full public view.

“More troubling is the fact that armed security operatives, particularly officers of the Nigeria Police Force, were present and watched these assaults happen without lifting a finger to protect the victims.

“This shameful episode represents one of the most barbaric responses to citizens’ cries for help in the history of governance in Nigeria.

“It is a moral collapse of leadership and a tragic indictment of a government that has consistently failed to secure lives and property, yet finds the energy to brutalize victims of insecurity”.

The statement added, “The Kwara PDP strongly condemns the conduct of the Nigeria Police officers on duty at the Government House during this incident.

“The decision of the police to stand by while innocent, grieving women and children were attacked is a gross betrayal of public trust and a violation of their constitutional duty to protect citizens, not shield criminals and political thugs

“We therefore call on Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, to immediately identify, investigate, and prosecute all police officers who supervised or allowed this assault to take place. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.

“We also demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of all government-linked thugs who carried out this attack on peaceful protesters. No society that claims to be civilized should tolerate such lawlessness under the guise of governance”.