A day after Chief Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, raised an alarm suggesting that bandits and kidnappers have relocated to Kwara and Kogi States, the Kogi State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Adewale Omofaye, narrowly escaped being kidnapped on Sunday. He was, however, had gun shot wounds on the leg.
Laying claims to intelligence reports at his disposal, Adams said on Saturday while speaking at the 2021 edition of Oya Festival in Ira, Kwara State, that the spate of insecurity in the two states was becoming disheartening and alarming.
By about 5 p.m. the next day along the Ikoyi-Iyara road, the Kogi Commissioner who was on his way to Lokoja, was attacked by gunmen.
He escaped with two other persons who were with him.
However, four other persons in another cat were not so lucky as they were whisked away into the forest by the kidnappers.
Security personnel, including local vigilante and hunters are said to have been mobilised to search for those that were abducted.
Adams decried the increasing rate of kidnapping in the Kogi and Kwara states, but urged the Kwara Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRasak, to create a state security outfit that could help combat the growing influx of bandits and kidnappers.
“Governor AbdulRasak needs to provide adequate security for the people of the state as well as the visitors.
“The report that some of the bad elements, including bandits and kidnappers, have relocated to Kwara and Kogi States is alarming.
“The Kwara State government needs to improve on the security situation in the state by using the Amotekun structure to combat the growing spate of insecurity in the state.
“The success recorded in securing the southwest through Amotekun is encouraging and the security initiative is yielding positive outcome,” he added