Kwara communities cry out over bandits’ attacks

…Plead with governor to impose 12-hour curfew in affected areas

Communities in Kwara South senatorial district of Kwara state have cried out over the spate of bandits’ attacks in the district.

They have therefore appealed to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq to impose a 12-hour curfew in the affected communities. Recently, bandits carried out bloody attacks on Oreke, Babanla, Ganmu-Alheri, Bankole, Shagbe and Ologomo communities, in Ifelodun Local Government area of the state.

At a press conference held at Igbomina House, Ganmo, spokesperson of a coalition of youth groups Kwara South, Engr Ajibola Olugbenga said the attacks had made farming activities difficult in the Kwara South axis. According to him, “Farmers can no longer access their farmlands; traders and travelers live in fear; and families are fleeing their ancestral homes that had existed for centuries. With farmers displaced, a major food crisis looms, threatening not only Kwara State, but also urban centers across Nigeria.

“The Kwara state government, under Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, President Bola Tinubu must understand that, what we face in Kwara South is nothing short of terrorism.

We therefore demand a full military base in the affected axis, not just occasional patrols; emergency security operations to be treated as a matter of national urgency, with military surveillance, air support, and combing of forests where terrorists are hiding: provision of modern arms and logistics to community hunters and vigilantes who are the first line of defense for our people and declaration of a 12-hour curfew (6:00 pm-6:00 am) in the most affected communities to allow military operations to flush out these criminals.”

Other demands, Engr Olugbenga affirmed, include; “creation of a joint security task force with federal, state, and local involvement, alongside youth representatives, to ensure coordinated response and accountability, swift federal intervention programmes to rehabilitate displaced persons, rebuild destroyed communities, and prevent further mass migration.

The post Kwara communities cry out over bandits’ attacks appeared first on Vanguard News.