The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has condemned the rising wave of terrorist attacks in south-western Nigeria, urging both federal and state authorities to intensify efforts to protect the region from banditry.
In a press release reported by Vanguard Newspaper on Saturday, National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, expressed the Yoruba community’s concern over the near-daily loss of lives across several states.
He highlighted the brutal treatment of kidnapped victims, pointing to the beatings and humiliations endured by abductees. Ajayi cited multiple incidents, including attacks on churches, police stations, homes, and highways in Ondo State; displaced communities in Kwara; killings of farmers and assaults on travellers along the Igbeti-Kisi road in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State; and kidnappings in Ekiti State, where victims were killed and their bodies held for ransom.
On ransom demands, Ajayi said: “The greatest demonstration of the heartlessness of these evil-doers was their demands of N1.5 million, Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE, and cartons of canned beer for the release of a corpse in their captivity.”
He added: “The kidnappers even hilariously asked for virgins to be brought in exchange for four men that they had previously abducted.”
Ajayi stressed that homes are no longer safe: “Until recently, the home environment was considered a ‘safe haven’. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. A couple was attacked in front of their home in Akure, Ondo State, with the husband shot while trying to prevent his wife from being abducted.”
He also mentioned other attacks: “Elder Igwe, father of a former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, was abducted on his way to church on Sunday, 1 March. In Erinmope-Ekiti, a family of five was taken at 7 p.m., while people were at mosque for evening prayers. Bandits reportedly went from house to house in Kubwa, Abuja, this week, robbing and abducting residents.”
Ajayi added that similar attacks have been reported in Kwara, Plateau, Benue, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Katsina, and Kaduna States, with returning refugees from Cameroon also falling victim in Bauchi State.
He recounted a case in Edo State: “When the daughter of one kidnapper fell ill, the doctor, on duty at the hospital, recognised the perpetrators and alerted the police, leading to their arrest. The point here is that the bandit values the life of his daughter by seeking medical care for her, yet saw nothing wrong in killing other people.”
On the fight against terrorism, Ajayi emphasised: “Bandits are neither spirits nor invincible.” He called for decisive action to cut off their funding, which comes from unscrupulous wealthy individuals, local and international organisations, some state actors, communities paying protection money or ‘harvest fees’, ransom from captives, and outright theft.
Highlighting foreign involvement, he said: “Confessions from apprehended and tried bandits revealed they had sponsors. Therefore, it is essential to pursue the sponsors and their intermediaries, block the sources of their funding and weapons, raid the bushes in which they hide, tackle corruption and sabotage within security forces, motivate personnel, and ensure the immediate establishment of state police.”
Afenifere also commended President Bola Tinubu for pushing the establishment of state police, noting his call on the National Assembly to expedite constitutional amendments for their immediate take-off. The group praised Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, for forming a committee to determine how state police would be deployed.
Finally, Afenifere urged South West governors to “Implement measures to raid bandit hideouts, maintain constant surveillance of vulnerable areas, and cooperate fully with the Federal Government to ensure the prompt establishment of state police in their states.”
