• Atiku deplores Kwara killings, urges action
• Obi, group seek emergency declaration on security
• Olawepo-Hashim fears for Northern Nigeria
• ADC chieftain faults Katsina peace deals

Bandits have abducted the Commissioner of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission, Ahmed Mohammed, popularly known as Barrister Ahmed Lawyer, his driver, and former SUBEB Chairman, Mohammed Bawa Niworu, as well as scores of motorists.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, September 29, around Ibbi National Park, along Zugurma-Ibbi to New Bussa Road in Mashegu Local Council of the state.

A source in the area said the victims were returning from Borgu when the incident occurred. It was also learnt that the bandits blocked the road a few metres from the police checkpoint on the Ibbi-Bussa highway, but the police tactical team, it was further gathered, engaged and repelled the hoodlums, with one of the officers sustaining a gunshot injury and taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

When contacted, the Niger State Police Command’s spokesman, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident, adding that a police patrol vehicle was damaged during the process, and some passengers were abducted along the road.

He stated: “The police command has mobilised more tactical teams with other security agencies, and vigilante members trailing the suspected kidnappers with a view to rescuing the abducted victims and possible arrest of the hoodlums.”

BUT former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed deep concern over the rising number of violent attacks in parts of Kwara State and the country, calling for urgent action from security agencies. He described the situation as “alarming,” citing the recent killings at Oke-Ode community, where vigilantes and the traditional ruler of Ogbayo were reportedly murdered by armed bandits.

“The tempo of armed attacks in some parts of Kwara State, and indeed in different parts of the country, is alarming,” Atiku said in a post on his Facebook page yesterday. HE stressed that the security of Kwara is of strategic importance, warning that the state could be vulnerable if left unprotected.

Also, former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, yesterday mourned victims of the Kwara state attack that left at least 12 people dead.
He urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on security, adding that “no Nigerian should have to live in fear in their own home.”

SIMILARLY, a socio-cultural organisation, Think Yoruba First (TYF), has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the security crisis plaguing the Northcentral state.

In a statement yesterday by its Public Relation Officer, Oluwole Lewis, the group attributed the security challenges to the overwhelmed security architecture and poor response time of security agencies, while demanding a state of emergency in Kwara North and South, citing peculiar reasons such as the absence of police stations, limited government presence, and lack of access to basic amenities like electricity and internet in troubled towns.

The organisation urged the President to take immediate action, warning that history would judge his response to the crisis.
EQUALLY, presidential hopeful, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has warned that Northern Nigeria risks sliding into war if urgent and coordinated national action is not taken to stem the growing wave of terrorism and banditry.

Hashim, in a statement, extended condolences to the families of victims of the recent bandit attack in Oke Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. He also demanded immediate security action to rescue abducted persons.

The politician revealed that two months ago, he had held a 30-minute security-focused conversation with Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, in his capacity as both governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

According to him, he presented a security trend model for Kwara and Northern Nigeria, but despite assurances that the situation was under control, recent events had shown that the challenges were far beyond the governor’s capacity.

“What is obvious is that despite his best efforts, the issues are well beyond him,” he said. Hashim painted a grim outlook, cautioning that terrorist forces were actively working to acquire the capacity to establish government in some northern states, depending on political developments in 2027.

He stressed that the Oke Ode massacre was a tragic reminder of the escalating threat, reminiscent of past attacks in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger, Baruteen, and Pategi local councils. Hashim also accused Nigeria’s ruling elite of complacency and disconnection from the plight of ordinary citizens.

ALSO, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Katsina, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, has chided ongoing peace deals with bandits in the state, describing the move as meaningless, since bandits do not surrender their weapons.

Inuwa, a former state Director General for the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign team, lamented that bandits have continued to perpetrate atrocities in parts of the state despite the peace deals. His criticism followed peace negotiations entered into by about a dozen frontline council areas that have been faced with incessant security challenges in the state.

The ADC chieftain, who was Secretary to the State Government (SSG) during ex-Governor Aminu Bello Masari’s administration, had himself been involved in granting amnesty to bandits on two occasions.

In the aftermath, the security situation in the state was reported to have escalated, with Governor Dikko Radda lamenting that about 22 councils were facing varying degrees of attacks by bandits.