Armed Robbery And Kidnapping Is Escalating In South West Nigeria – Group Raises Alarm

Urgent Call to Action: Addressing the Surge in Insecurity and Protecting the Community

Hello friends,  have you all heard about the recent rise in armed robbery in the South-West? Afenifere, the prominent Yoruba socio-cultural and political group, is super worried about it. They’re calling on the government and security folks to step up and tackle this insecurity issue, especially with armed robbery and kidnapping getting out of hand.

Just last Wednesday, there was this crazy armed robbery at two banks in Ikere, Ekiti State. Can you believe three Amotekun security personnel got killed? Plus, other innocent people got hurt too. It’s really sad. And guess what? This happened just weeks after Taiwo Oyekanmi, a big shot Director of Finance in Ogun State, was killed in Abeokuta by robbers who snatched millions meant for government workers. That was on November 29, 2023.

Then, there’s this report about seven people getting kidnapped and one person killed at Fidiwo on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. And a 13-year-old student, Miracle Adereti Kolawole, got kidnapped on December 1, 2023, in Ikotun, Lagos. The police are on it, though, with Inspector Ogidiolu Olajimi leading the rescue.

It’s not just in Lagos, guys. There have been abductions in places like Ikotun, Okota, Ejigbo, Alimosho, Egbeda, Agege, and Amuwo Odofin. And back in July, eight workers from MRS Oil were kidnapped in Lagos. The kidnappers are asking for ransoms in millions, and sadly, some victims are still getting killed even after the ransom is paid.

Afenifere is saying that the Ikere-Ekiti bank robbery and other crimes like this are just terrible. They believe these could’ve been prevented with better security measures. With the holidays coming up, people are scared to travel because of the fear of attacks.

They’re calling on President Bola Tinubu to step in and address the root causes of this insecurity. They’re suggesting things like letting states and local governments have their own police forces, speeding up the justice system for bandits, and improving the socio-economic conditions to empower people and build trust in the government.

Also, they’re talking about de-radicalizing these bandits and educating people to stop protecting known criminals. But, for this to work, people need to feel safe to report these criminals without fearing for their lives. Security agencies need to be more careful about protecting informants. It’s a tough situation, but it’s high time something’s done about it. What do y’all think?