Terror!sts Str!ke Again In Kwara Community, ∆bduct Two Chiefs
Terrorists Strike Again In Kwara Community, Abduct Two Chiefs
SaharaReporters gathered that the victims, identified as Chief Yahaya Majeobaje Owolabi and Baba Oja, Yahaya Adeniyi, were abducted on Friday while travelling to Baba-nla to discuss pressing security concerns with the Babanla monarch.
Terrorists, locally dubbed aa bandits, have kidnapped two high-ranking community chiefs in Oreke, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, just as the residents were heeding government assurances to return to their homes.
SaharaReporters gathered that the victims, identified as Chief Yahaya Majeobaje Owolabi and Baba Oja, Yahaya Adeniyi, were abducted on Friday while travelling to Baba-nla to discuss pressing security concerns with the Babanla monarch.
The incident has left the Oreke community in fear, with most residents fleeing once again as a result of repeated attacks.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, a handful of residents who had returned to Oreke after being persuaded by Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, expressed shock and dismay at the audacity of the kidnappers.
The governor had assured them that the town was secure, urging residents to return and resume their normal lives. However, the abduction of two of the town’s most respected elders has shattered any sense of safety.
“Governor AbdulRahman, we greet you. Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government, Femi Yusuf, we greet you too. You advised us to return after the terrorist attacks. We came back, but as you can see, the town is empty,” one resident pleaded on camera.
“Although some of us returned two weeks ago, most elders only came back on Tuesday. We have been planning how to protect the town and secure military presence. But our leaders were kidnapped on their way to Baba-nla.”
Residents claim that despite repeated assurances of military and police presence, the town remains dangerously unprotected.
“The government claims to have bombed the terrorists, but we see no evidence. We have a police division, but there are no officers stationed here anymore. Soldiers are only in Baba-nla; they patrol and leave. They do not enter the bush where the kidnappers are hiding,” another resident said.
The community has been under siege for months, with more than 20 residents reportedly kidnapped and ransoms paid to secure their release.
“We cannot go to our farms. We cannot sleep in our homes. Our hunters who tried to search for the abducted chiefs were killed. Yesterday, two of our highest-ranking chiefs, the Babaloja and Majekobaje of Oreke, were kidnapped,” a distraught community member said.
“What crime have we committed? We are pleading with the government, with President Tinubu and our Local Government Chairman, to intervene. Our town is under siege, and there is no one to protect us.”
The ordeal has left residents frustrated and disillusioned.
A man, wearing a red shirt, recounted spending three months and a week in captivity.
“We are tired. I was kidnapped and spent three months and a week with the kidnappers before I was released. Please help us. There is no one left in our community. People have fled for safety because of the terrorism and kidnappings.
“More than 20 people from Oreke have been kidnapped, and we have been paying ransom to secure their release. One of our elders paid N35million for his freedom.
“They abducted the Naibi Imam of Oreke, yet the government is still asking us to return to the community. There are no soldiers here. They only deployed soldiers to Baba-nla and Oke Ode. There is no single security presence in Oreke, and terrorists continue to target us.
“On November 14, they kidnapped two of our high chiefs. What crime have we committed? We are pleading with the government to come to our aid. We can’t go to our farms. We can’t sleep in our homes.
“They have kidnapped the Babaloja of Oreke and the Majekobaje of Oreke. Our hunters went searching but could not find them,” he added.
WATCH: Residents Lament As Terrorists Strike Again In Kwara Community, Abduct Two Chiefs pic.twitter.com/jg28lYv7ZN
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) November 16, 2025
