Gunmen identified as terrorists locally dubbed bandits — have abducted two high-ranking chiefs from Oreke, in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, in a brazen attack that has reignited fears over the fragility of security in the region. The victims, Chief Yahaya Majeobaje Owolabi and Baba Oja (Yahaya Adeniyi), were seized while travelling to Baba-nla for a meeting to discuss mounting security concerns, SaharaReporters has learned.
Although the state governor, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, had recently encouraged displaced residents to return home by assuring them of heightened protection, the abduction has shattered any remaining confidence: many returnees fled again following the incident. In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, distraught inhabitants lament the absence of sustained military and police presence, describing the security guarantees as hollow. “There are no officers here anymore.
Soldiers patrol only in Baba-nla and then leave,” one resident said, adding that past rescue efforts have proved deadly — local hunters searching for the chiefs reportedly lost their lives. Community members, some bearing the scars of past kidnappings, told the news outlet that more than 20 people from Oreke have been kidnapped over time, with millions of naira paid in ransom—one elder allegedly paid ₦35 million to secure his release.
The townspeople are urging the federal and state governments, including President Tinubu, to urgently intervene. The latest attack underscores a deepening crisis in Kwara State, where repeated abductions have cast doubt on the capacity of security forces to protect civilians, even as the government publicly claims to have degraded the militants.
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