Hundreds of Kwara youths blocked a major highway on Saturday protesting rising kidnappings in their communities.
They demanded urgent government action, citing ransoms, missing vigilantes and worsening insecurity across the area.
Hundreds of young people from Isanlu-Isin, Oke-Onigbin and Edidi communities in Kwara South on Saturday barricaded the Ilorin–Omu-Aran–Kabba Highway to protest an upsurge in abductions in their area.
The demonstrators, who began gathering around 8:00 a.m., lit bonfires and held placards with messages such as “Enough is Enough,” “Stop Kidnapping Our People” and “We Demand Urgent Action.” The blockade caused heavy gridlock on both sides of the busy road for several hours.
Chief Michael Ayanda, the Odee of Isanlu-Isin and spokesperson for the protesters, told journalists at Eleyin Village that the wave of kidnappings has crippled farming, trading and other livelihoods in the affected communities, deepening hardship and fear. He said repeated petitions to government agencies and security operatives had gone unanswered.
Ayanda alleged that residents had paid tens of millions of naira in ransoms, yet many victims were still in captivity. He noted that seven local vigilantes who ventured into the forests to help rescue hostages had disappeared.
According to him, “We’ve already paid large sums to secure the release of abducted community members, but kidnappers continue to demand more while our people remain in danger. This protest is to alert the authorities and the public about our plight and to call for stronger action to protect lives and property.”
Chairman of Irepodun Local Government Area, Azeez Yakubu, who met the protesters at Eleyin Village, appealed for calm and pledged to take their grievances to state officials. Also speaking, the Serikin Fulani of Eleyin Village, Mallam Ismaila Ahmed, said at least eleven community members were still being held despite ransom payments, describing the situation as intolerable.
Efforts to reach the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, were unsuccessful, but the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaiye, urged the youths to remain patient, assuring them that the state government was working on new security measures to curb crime.
