3 weeks ago
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•Villages sacked, policemen, villagers targeted
•Gov visits areas, vows stiffer measures
•’Locals connive, assist terrorists with logistics’
By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor,
Kogi West Senatorial District, the Yoruba-speaking country of Kogi State, is presently nether siege.
Residents of the area, which covers 7 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state’s 21 LGAs, unrecorded successful perpetual fear. Some person deserted their villages to places they see safe, portion those who stayed backmost bash not slumber with their eyes closed.
Even erstwhile they do, those who are fortunate to aftermath up are confronted by gory sights and tales of bandits’ attacks. The agrarian people, known for producing the champion successful galore fields, hardly cultivate their farmlands for fearfulness of bandits who onslaught them regularly. Villages are often invaded, portion their farmlands, isolated from being plundered, are present no-go areas.
For the locals, who person agelong suffered neglect, particularly successful infrastructure, successful the hands of successive authorities and national governments, their erstwhile peaceful villages person go theatres of chaos. The antecedently calm forests, with their flora and fauna, person go harmless havens for bandits.
Findings by Sunday Vanguard showed that respective persons, including policemen and section vigilante members, person mislaid their lives successful the attacks. It was learnt that the bandits relocated from immoderate parts of the North-West and North-Central to the mostly ungoverned forests. They reside successful the forests from wherever they kidnap villagers connected their farmlands, homes, and roads.
Absence of motorable roads
It was learnt that what makes the concern dire is the adjacent lack of motorable roads successful the area, which is being exploited by the criminals. For example, the Ilorin–Omuaran–Kabba Highway, which passes done galore communities successful the area, has wholly collapsed pursuing years of neglect by authorities and national governments. Only a fewer towns, particularly section authorities headquarters, tin boast of paved roads.
Early this year, precisely successful March, the umbrella assemblage of Yoruba-speaking radical in Kogi, the Okun Development Association (ODA), raised the alarm implicit worsening insecurity successful the area. It called connected the authorities and national governments to instrumentality urgent action. This alarm followed a surge successful kidnappings, robberies, and killings crossed Okunland, including the caller abduction of a first-class monarch, Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, from his palace successful Okoloke, Yagba West Local Government Area, alongside 4 others. Three section hunters were besides reportedly killed successful the aforesaid community.
The President-General of ODA, Akenson Rotimi, expressed sedate interest implicit the deteriorating information situation. “Our radical nary longer consciousness harmless returning home. Business owners are shutting down, and farmers are acrophobic to spell to their farms. The interaction connected our socio-economic activities is devastating,” helium said. Akenson highlighted however markets person emptied, businesses are struggling, and cultivation activities person stalled. He acknowledged the efforts of information agencies, including the constabulary and military, but stressed the important relation of community-led initiatives specified arsenic hunters and vigilante groups successful maintaining order.
He gave a timeline of convulsive incidents, dating backmost to May 2, 2021, erstwhile Commissioner Solomon Adegbayo was killed and Pius Kolawole, past Yagba West chairman, was abducted. He noted that insecurity successful the country has lone worsened since then. In caller weeks, the attacks person reached an alarming level, with galore calling connected the national authorities to urgently tackle the problem.
Further checks by Sunday Vanguard showed a timeline of immoderate of the incidents that revealed not conscionable the brazenness of the bandits but besides however wide the attacks person go successful the full zone. From January to date, it has been hellhole for the locals and travellers successful the area.
Undertaker
In January 2025, an ambulance traveling from Egbe successful Yagba West to Ponyan (in Yagba East) aft a ceremonial was attacked by bandits. An undertaker named Segun Adekoya was killed erstwhile the radical transporting a corpse was ambushed connected the Egbe–Ogbe–Ponyan road.
In May, astatine Okoloke community, Yagba West, aft the monarch Oba James Dada Ogunyanda was abducted, gunmen attacked again, sidesplitting 3 people. Two of them were vigilantes escorting different idiosyncratic to refuel a...
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