‘Help Us’ – Yoruba in Kwara cry out as terrorists sack communities

By Samuel Ogunsona

The Igbomina-Yoruba community of Isanlu Isin in Kwara State has called for urgent intervention to save them from terrorist attacks.

Suspected Fulani terrorists have plunged many Yoruba Communities in Kwara into tumoil with residents living under the constant threat of bandits.

The communities claim bandits have turned their once-peaceful land into a “theater of fear, bloodshed, and uncertainty.”

Many Yoruba communities in Kogi are facing the same challenges.

A statement signed by Dr. Jacob Ayanda Esq, Vice President of the Isanlu Isin Development Association, on behalf of the people of Isanlu Isin, made available to Irohinodua on Saturday called on the Federal Government and other Yoruba Communities to come to their aid.

“We have been under siege by criminal bandits for over two months now,” the statement read.

“Despite repeated reports to the Local Government Authority (LGA) and the Kwara State Government, no tangible action has been taken to safeguard the lives and property of our people.” Dr. Ayanda noted that the crisis began with the sacking of Fulani settlements surrounding their community, which led to attacks, kidnappings, and shootings.

According to the statement, the bandits suspected to be Fulani have kidnapped several Yoruba persons, forcing families of victims to pay millions of naira in ransom, with many abducted individuals still unaccounted for.

The group also alleged that Fulani residents abandoned their original settlements and now occupy uncompleted buildings within the Yoruba community.

“In the aftermath, Fulani residents abandoned their original settlements and now occupy uncompleted buildings within our town—a development that was adequately reported to the authorities, but met with deafening silence,” the statement added.

The community’s vigilante group, with support from neighbouring communities, mobilized to defend their land when intelligence suggested the bandits were planning to invade their town.

However, the vigilantes walked into an ambush, and despite fighting bravely and repelling the attackers, the bandits retaliated with devastating impact.

“Over 27 motorcycles belonging to our vigilantes were set ablaze. Two of our gallant men were killed. Six remain missing,” the statement revealed.

The community has expressed deep disappointment and frustration with the lack of response from government agencies.

“The saddest and most painful reality is that no government agency—neither local, state, nor federal—responded to our cries for help,” the statement read. In desperation, the community blocked the Ilorin–Lokoja road to draw attention to their plight and the gross insensitivity of those in authority who have abandoned them to their fate.

“We blocked the Ilorin–Lokoja road, not out of lawlessness, but to let the world see our plight and the gross insensitivity of those in authority who have abandoned us to our fate,” the community declared.

“Today, we raise our voices to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and all relevant security agencies: Come to the rescue of Isanlu Isin.”

The community is calling for urgent intervention to replace the motorcycles and resources of their vigilantes, conduct immediate search and rescue operations for their missing men, and comb the bushes and forests around their community, now infested with armed bandits.

“Help us replace the motorcycles and resources of our vigilantes. Conduct immediate search and rescue operations for our missing men. Comb the bushes and forests around our community, now infested with armed bandits,” the statement pleaded.

“We cannot continue to live in fear in our own land. If nothing urgent is done, the whole area might collapse under the weight of insecurity and government negligence,” the community warned.

“We have spoken, not just for ourselves, but for the dignity of every neglected Nigerian community battling insecurity in silence.”