Residents flee Kwara community after fresh abduction attempt as king remains in captivity

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

Residents of Bayagan Ile in the Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State are now fleeing the community in droves, following a fresh attempt by bandits to abduct residents Sunday morning.

Vanguard reliably gathered that the community has been left in fear and confusion following the sudden abduction of the monarch, Alhaji Kamilu Salami, the Ojibara of Bayagan, on November 29, 2025, while working on his farm on that fateful Saturday morning.

It was further gathered that residents of the community have since been relocating from Bayagan Ile following fruitless attempts to secure the release of the monarch, largely known as a rallying point in the community.

Vanguard further gathered that a fresh failed attempt by the bandits to abduct members of the community yesterday morning was followed by an alarm raised by someone who sighted them from afar.

This development reportedly sparked mass relocation, as residents are now leaving Bayagan in droves.

Spokesperson of the community, Ayinla Lawal, confirmed the development in an interview with Vanguard Monday morning.

According to him, “Already, people have been relocating from our community since the abduction of our monarch 24 days ago.

“In fact, to say that our people have been living in serious fear and confusion over the absence of our monarch is an understatement.

“The worst development is that neither the local government nor even the state government is helping us in this matter.

‘We are begging them to please come to our rescue so that our monarch can be released. We have been negotiating with the bandits, begging them while we are still contributing the money.

“We still held a meeting yesterday. I can’t disclose the amount, but we haven’t met their target. I spoke with our monarch last on Thursday; his spirit was very low. He was begging the community to help him so that he could leave that place alive. He said we should not let him die there.

“As we speak, our community is almost empty following a fresh abduction attempt yesterday morning.

“There was a sudden loud noise, and someone sighted groups of the bandits on motorcycles afar, so people started leaving the community in fear.

“There’s nothing we can do other than to continue to beg the state government; it’s obvious that we can’t do it alone, and we don’t want our monarch to die in the captivity of the bandits,” the community spokesperson said.

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