Banditry: Kwara North needs urgent help

Insecurity has been a longstanding issue in Kwara North dating back to 2018 when the government imposed a ban on night grazing. However, the recent surge in kidnappings and banditry has shaken the entire community. Our communities continue to suffer under the grip of insecurity, and the burden has shifted not only onto the shoulders […]

Insecurity has been a longstanding issue in Kwara North dating back to 2018 when the government imposed a ban on night grazing. However, the recent surge in kidnappings and banditry has shaken the entire community.

Our communities continue to suffer under the grip of insecurity, and the burden has shifted not only onto the shoulders of families but also into their very pockets. Hard-earned money saved for years is being stolen by bandits in the name of ransom. Over the past weeks, we have witnessed kidnappings in Lafiagi, Patigi, Edu, and across villages that once thrived in peace.

The bandits invade, abduct, and then dictate ransom figures as though they were legitimate authorities. What is worse, our people have been forced to pay – not out of wealth, but out of desperation. It is reported that victims have paid over N300 million in ransom payments in just one month. That staggering figure is not just money – it represents farmland sold off, houses auctioned, life savings wiped clean, and future dreams buried.

Families that once laboured to send their children to school are now emptying their pockets to save them from captors. A POS agent’s family was recently driven to the humiliation of auctioning his belongings on Facebook, while cries of anguish echoed through his community.

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The continuous transfer of money from impoverished communities to the hands of bandits is unsustainable and unjust. It is a bleeding wound that cannot heal unless decisive government action halts it. The failure of government to secure life and property, the most basic responsibility of any state, is glaringly evident.

Communities feel abandoned. While officials give speeches and promise action, the villagers live in fear of nightfall. Parents put their children to bed uncertain if gunmen will storm their homes before dawn. The cost is not only financial. It is psychological. It is communal. It is the erosion of trust in our leaders and the sense that we must fend for ourselves.

Yet, even in despair, we see resilience – neighbours rallying around victims, traditional leaders offering solace, and vigilantes standing in defence with their limited means. We cannot normalise ransom as a way of life. As it stands, Kwara North stands at a crossroads, not only Kwara North, Kwara South has also fallen prey to the bandits and awaits their fate for the next victim. Will our cries be heard? Or will we continue to pay ransoms, one family after another, until entire communities are drained of hope and resources?

As a a way out of this government must regain public trust by providing  security that prevents the need for ransom payments.

It should deploy security personnel to every community for at least six months to provide a sense of safety and security. Additionally, forest guards should be deployed to safeguard forests and prevent bandits from using them as hideouts.

The Nigerian Air Force should be deployed immediately to track and exterminate bandits, ensuring they do not escape to other states and face the ultimate consequences of their actions.

For now, we live each day praying for safety and for the courage to endure – but above all, demanding that government rise to its duty and protect us from the terror that has become our reality.

 

Muhammad Adamu Danjuma Ndazden can be contacted via [email protected]