…Says Insecurity Worsening Across South-West States
…Calls For Urgent Security Crackdown
Daud Olatunji
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has raised the alarm over what it described as a disturbing escalation in kidnapping activities in the South-West, revealing that some bandits now demand virgins and hard drugs as part of ransom negotiations.
The group warned that the development reflects the growing brutality of criminal gangs terrorising communities across the region, urging the Federal Government and security agencies to urgently step up efforts to tackle the worsening security crisis.
Afenifere made the disclosure in a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, who lamented that residents across several South-West states now live in fear due to the increasing frequency of violent attacks and abductions.
Ajayi said recent incidents in states such as Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Kwara showed that kidnappers had become more daring, attacking communities, invading homes and abducting residents for ransom.
According to him, the cruelty of the attackers is evident in the nature of their ransom demands.
“In some instances, abductors demanded about ₦1.5m alongside items such as Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE and cartons of canned beer before agreeing to release their victims,” he said.
The Afenifere spokesman further revealed that in another case, kidnappers reportedly demanded virgins as part of the conditions for the release of four men who had been abducted.
He lamented that homes, which were once considered safe havens, were increasingly becoming targets for armed gangs.
Ajayi cited an incident in Akure, Ondo State, where a man was reportedly shot while attempting to prevent gunmen from abducting his wife in front of their residence.
He also referred to cases in Ekiti State where entire families were kidnapped from their homes, as well as reports of armed men moving from house to house in Kubwa, Abuja, robbing and abducting residents.
Ajayi added that similar attacks had been reported in other parts of the country, including Plateau, Benue, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Katsina and Kaduna states, warning that the nation’s security situation remained deeply troubling.
While describing the trend as alarming, Afenifere maintained that the security challenge was not insurmountable if authorities took decisive action.
The group urged the Federal Government to go after sponsors and financiers of banditry, block their sources of weapons and funding, and intensify military operations to dismantle criminal hideouts.
It also renewed its call for the establishment of state police, arguing that decentralised policing would enable quicker responses to security threats in local communities.
Afenifere further appealed to South-West governors to strengthen surveillance across forests and rural communities, which it said had become major hideouts for kidnappers and bandits.
The organisation stressed the need for stronger collaboration between federal and state authorities to effectively tackle the rising wave of kidnapping and terrorism across the country.
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