Residents Flee Kwara Community over Incessant Bandits’ Attacks

Residents flee Omugo community in Kwara after repeated attacks, while families plead for rescue of abducted worshippers amid soaring ransom demands and insecurity.

Indigenes of Omugo community, Oro-Ago district in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State have raised the alarm that the area was now deserted owing to incessant attacks from bandits and terrorists.

Representatives of the community, who spoke with journalists in Ilorin, yesterday, appealed for rescue of eight abducted worshippers on Sunday, March 22, 2026 and total security intervention in Omugo community.

Leading the delegation of the community, coordinator and Secretary of the Concerned Citizens of Omugo, Balogun Oladiran Johnson and Adeniyi Olasunkanmi, respectively, said that March 22 abduction was the third time in six months that “the shadow of terror has fallen upon our land”.

They added: “Reports from contacts with the abductors indicate that an initial ransom demand of N1 billion was made and later reduced to N150 million—an amount far beyond the financial capacity of the victims’ families and the community.”

The people, who said the current situation in Omugo community demanded urgent and coordinated intervention, added that protection of lives and property remained the fundamental responsibility of the government.

“The circumstances surrounding the abduction of these worshippers call for swift, decisive, and sustained security action that restores safety, confidence, and dignity to the people of the community.

“We call for immediate rescue operation. We urge the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Kwara State Government, Ifelodun Local Government, and all relevant security agencies to launch a coordinated, intelligence-driven rescue operation to secure the safe and unconditional release of the abducted worshippers. The lives of these innocent citizens must be treated as a matter of urgent national priority,” they added.