Olayomi Koiki
KWARA, Nigeria – The Commander of a vigilante group, Lukman Balogun has been killed by armed kidnappers during a rescue operation in the Igbaja community of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, South-West Nigeria, police said.
Following the development, aggrieved youths in the community on Tuesday took to the streets to protest the killing.
The deceased, who was described as a thorn in the flesh of the terrorists locally dubbed as bandits, terrorising the community, was until his death on Monday evening the Jagun of Igbajaland.
He was repprtedly killed by the assailants, who invaded the community on Sunday and abducted three women.
Another two people were reportedly kidnapped from Kajola village in the early hours of Tuesday.
The youths alleged that suspected itinerant cattle herders perpetrated the heinous crime.
Coordinator of Kwara South Elders Security Forum, Olaitan Oyin-Zubair, who confirmed the abduction of five persons, said the late vigilante leader died during a gun duel between his men and the kidnappers.
“Right now, the combined team of police, military and vigilante men are in the forest around Igbaja and Oke-Ode searching for the abducted victims,” Oyin-Zubair told local broadcaster Channels Television.
Another source said that the deceased was among the team on the trail of some kidnappers who had abducted a prominent resident of the town.
“It was at Ogele-Yaaru road that our Balogun was killed,” a source said.
Meanwhile, the paramount ruler, Elese of Igbaja land, Oba Ahmed Babalola Arepo III, has urged the protesters to be calm, describing Balogun’s death as a big blow.
The monarch assured the youths that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would be apprehended and brought to book.
Also, the Chairman of the Ifelodun Local Government Area, Femi Yusuf, who led a delegation to the area, commiserated with the community on the death of Jagun and assured them that all hands would be on deck to track down the kidnappers and killers of the late vigilante leader.
Kwara State Police Command’s spokeswoman Toun Ejire-Adeyemi confirmed the incident and described it “as unfortunate”, adding that policemen are on the trail of the kidnappers.
– Insecurity and violence in Nigeria –
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
In August, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said insecurity in Nigeria is weaponised by politicians for political and selfish reasons.
A Nigerian soldier, Suleiman S., also alleged that the government’s practice of paying ransoms to terrorists – dubbed as bandits in the country was hindering the military’s ability to effectively combat them.
He urged the public to redirect their blame from the Nigerian Army to the government, emphasising that soldiers are constrained by orders and cannot take independent action.
The soldier said the military has the capability to eradicate bandits, particularly in hotspots like Zamfara State forest within a week if given the necessary orders.
He expressed frustration that the military’s potential is being wasted due to a lack of direction from leadership, whom he accused of profiting from the ongoing crisis.
Nigerian government are not going to arrest Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, and other criminals because they were created for political purposes, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore had alleged in September.
Speaking when he appeared on Voice of The People FM, Sowore alleged that government officials have links with the criminals, using them to gain power and later protecting them.