Kwara: Youth calls for improved intervention on security

Youth groups in the Kwara South senatorial district under the aegis of Igbomina Youth Assembly (IYAss), Kwara South Youth Development Organization (KWAYORG), Kwara South Consultative Youth Forum (KSCYE) and all Kwara South community-based youth associations have urged the state government not to rest on its oars on finding lasting solution to security issues in the area.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Friday, spokesperson of the groups, who is also the president of IYAss, Engineer Ajibola Olugbenga, said that some communities such as Oreke, Babanla, Ganmu-Alheri, Bankole, Shagbe, Ologomo in the Ifelodun local government area of the state were recently attacked by bandits.

Accordingly, the groups urged the state government in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, to impose a-12 hour curfew (6:00 am to 6:00pm) in the affected communities in Kwara South.

The youth also demanded “immediate and heavy deployment of military forces into Kwara South to restore order, dislodge bandits, and secure our communities.

“This must include a full military base in the affected axis, not just occasional patrols; emergency security operations to be treated as a matter of national urgency, with military surveillance, air support, and combing of forests where terrorists are hiding: provision of modern arms and logistics to community hunters and vigilantes who remain the first fine of defense for our people.

Other demands, Engineer Olugbenga said include “creation of a joint security task force with federal, state, and local involvement, alongside youth representatives, to ensure coordinated response and accountability and swift federal intervention programmes to rehabilitate displaced persons, rebuild destroyed communities, and prevent further mass migration”.

The people, who said that the attacks had made farming activities difficult in the affected areas, added that, “With farmers displaced, a major food crisis looms, threatening not only Kwara State but also urban centers across Nigeria that depend on Kwara South for agricultural produce”.

“The Kwara state government, under Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the Federal Government, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must understand that what we face in Kwara South is nothing short of terrorism.

“We demand military presence. We demand emergency intervention. We demand justice for our slain leaders and protection for the living.

“A threat to Kwara South is a threat to Nigeria. The time to act is now.

“We acknowledge the past efforts of government and our traditional rulers who have spoken against this menace.

Speaking with our correspondent, the KWAYORG President, Prince Abolarin S. Ibrahim, admonished members of the National Assembly and other political office holders from the district to join forces with the state and Federal Government to stamp out the suspected gunmen.

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