Terrorists have once again attacked the Oreke community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, abducting two senior chiefs despite repeated government assurances that Oreke was no longer under threat.
The victims — Chief Yahaya Majeobaje Owolabi and Baba Oja, Yahaya Adeniyi — were reportedly seized on Friday while travelling to Baba-nla for a security meeting with the town’s monarch.
The latest attack has plunged residents back into fear, forcing many who had only recently returned to flee once more. A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows a handful of residents expressing shock that the kidnappers struck so soon after government officials persuaded them to resume their normal lives.
They said Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman and local government chairman Femi Yusuf had urged them to come back home, insisting the area was secure. But the abduction of respected elders has shattered confidence in those assurances.
“Governor AbdulRahman, we greet you. Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government, Femi Yusuf, we greet you too. You advised us to return after the terrorist attacks. We came back, but as you can see, the town is empty,” one resident said in the video.
Another explained that elders had only just returned days earlier to plan how to protect the community and secure military presence when the chiefs were kidnapped on their way to Baba-nla.
Residents insist that promised security measures are not reflected on the ground.
“The government claims to have bombed the terrorists, but we see no evidence. We have a police division, but there are no officers stationed here anymore. Soldiers are only in Baba-nla; they patrol and leave. They do not enter the bush where the kidnappers are hiding,” a resident stated.
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The community has been under siege for months, with more than 20 people abducted and ransoms repeatedly paid for their release. One resident added that hunters who attempted to track the kidnappers were killed.
“What crime have we committed? We are pleading with the government, with President Tinubu and our Local Government Chairman, to intervene. Our town is under siege, and there is no one to protect us,” another community member cried out.
A man who appeared in a red shirt recounted his own ordeal, saying he was held captive for over three months.
“We are tired. I was kidnapped and spent three months and a week with the kidnappers before I was released. Please help us. There is no one left in our community. People have fled for safety because of the terrorism and kidnappings.”
He added that one elder paid N35 million for his freedom and that even the Naibi Imam of Oreke had been kidnapped.
“They have kidnapped the Babaloja of Oreke and the Majekobaje of Oreke. Our hunters went searching but could not find them,” he said.
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