Bandits Abduct Four Kwara Farmers in Fresh Attack as Govt Closes Schools in 5 LGAs

Bandits Abduct Four Kwara Farmers in Fresh Attack as Govt Closes Schools in 5 LGAs

Suspected bandits have struck again in Kwara State, abducting four rice farmers from Bokungi Village in Edu Local Government Area on Wednesday evening, in the latest of a series of attacks that have plagued the state over the past 48 hours.

This is coming as the state government has ordered closure of all schools in four local government areas in the state.

In a statement by the commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr Lawal Olohungbebe, the government said the measures also cover the boarding schools in Irepodun.

The abduction occurred just one day after gunmen attacked a church in Eruku, Ekiti LGA, killing two people and abducting several others. According to community sources, the farmers were working during the peak of the harvest season when the attackers suddenly surrounded them as they gathered their harvested rice.

“The gunmen operated for several minutes without resistance,” one resident reported. The assailants forced the farmers into a nearby bush before taking them to an unknown destination.

Rising insecurity in Edu LGA has left several farming settlements deserted, with farmers increasingly fearful of attacks during this critical harvest period when they are most vulnerable in their fields.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Kwara State Police Command nor the state government had issued an official statement regarding the latest attack.

The incident occurred less than 24 hours after the brutal attack on a church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, where two persons were killed and 30 abducted.

Community sources said four individuals, including a vigilante were initially kidnapped during the coordinated incidents.

One of the sources said assailants later killed the two rice farmers and inflicted wounds on a third individual who is said to be a vigilante.

Meanwhile, the government said it activated proactive security measures in schools, as part of its wider efforts to guarantee a safer environment for school children government Area of the state, on Wednesday.

The measures affected schools in Ifelodun, Ekiti, Irepodun, Isin, and Oke Ero Local Government Areas.

The government said the decision underscored its determination to curtail the activities of kidnappers who may want to use schoolchildren as human shields from renewed security crackdowns.

The measure, the statement added, may remain in place while awaiting further security clearance for normal activities to resume.

On Monday, bandits had invaded Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS), Maga, Danko Wasagu area of Kebbi State, killing one official and abducting 25 students.

Reacting to the incidents, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information, said President Bola Tinubu had placed the country’s security architecture on its “highest alert”.

Idris spoke in Abuja on Wednesday while addressing a press conference on the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Kebbi and Kwara states.