Rising Insurgency: Afenifere Urges South-West Leaders to Take Action to Avoid Societal Breakdown

Afenifere, a Yoruba organisation, has strongly condemned the recent surge in terrorist attacks in the South-West, urging the government and security agencies to take swift action to rescue the region from the grip of banditry, citing the "barbarity" in Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Kwara, and Edo.

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In a press release issued on Saturday, Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, expressed the Yoruba people's deep concern over the daily loss of human life across several states, highlighting the brutal treatment of kidnapped victims and the merciless beating of abductees.

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Ajayi referenced multiple incidents, including attacks on churches, police stations, individual homes, and highways in Ondo State, as well as the sacking of communities in Kwara, and killings of farmers and attacks on travellers along the Igbeti-Kisi road in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State.

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The organisation also cited the gruesome kidnappings in Ekiti State, where victims were killed and their corpses held for ransom, with Ajayi noting that the kidnappers' demands included 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.

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Ajayi further stated that the kidnappers had even requested virgins in exchange for four men they had previously abducted, demonstrating the "heartlessness" of the perpetrators.

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The home environment, once considered a "safe haven", is no longer secure, as evidenced by the attack on a couple in front of their home in Akure, Ondo State, where the husband was shot while trying to prevent his wife's abduction.

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Elder Igwe, father of a former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, was abducted on his way to church on Sunday, 1 March, while a family of five was taken at 7 pm in Erinmope-Ekiti, and bandits went from house to house in Kubwa, Abuja, robbing and abducting residents.

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Ajayi observed that similar protracted 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.

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In Edo State, kidnappers of a medical doctor and his brother killed the younger sibling but released the doctor after ransom payment, and when the daughter of one kidnapper fell ill, the doctor recognised the perpetrators and alerted the police, leading to their arrest.

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Ajayi noted that the bandit's actions were hypocritical, as they valued the life of their daughter by seeking medical care for her, yet saw nothing wrong in killing other people.

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Terrorism and kidnapping are rampant, but Ajayi insisted that the problem is not insurmountable, stating that "bandits are neither spirits nor invincible".

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The Afenifere leader called for decisive action to cut off the bandits' funding sources, which include unscrupulous wealthy individuals, local and international organisations, some state actors, communities paying protection money or 'harvest fees', ransom from captives, and outright theft.

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Ajayi also urged an investigation into foreign actors involved in illegal mining who may be driving the sacking of communities, and emphasized the need to pursue the sponsors and their intermediaries, block the sources of their funding and weapons, and tackle corruption and sabotage within security forces.

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Afenifere commended President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for his determination in advancing state police, citing his call on the National Assembly to expedite constitutional amendments for their immediate take-off.

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The organisation also praised the new Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, for inaugurating a committee to determine modalities for state police deployment.

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Afenifere reiterated its call for 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.