The Senate, on Wednesday, sought urgent military base in Kwara State and federal intervention over the growing insecurity in the state.
This followed an escalating wave of killings, kidnappings, and bandits’ attacks in Kwara South Senatorial District, particularly in Ifelodun Local Government Area.
The red chamber, which called for immediate and comprehensive federal intervention to halt the worsening insecurity, alleged that 142 persons had been kidnapped, 70 killed, and 25 communities deserted in one year.
The motion was sponsored by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Oyelola Yisa Ashiru, representing Kwara South.
This was as Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has commended President Bola for his intervention in the state with the deployment of a full brigade and heavy equipment in different parts of Kwara South by the Nigerian Army.
Ashiru, who detailed figures of human casualties, mass displacement, and economic paralysis in parts of the senatorial zone, said they have become the new theatre of violent crimes in the North Central region.
Presenting the motion of urgent national importance, Ashiru said no fewer than 142 people had been kidnapped and over 70 killed in the past twelve months across communities in Ifelodun, Isin, Ekiti, and Oke Ero Local Government Areas.
He added that about 25 communities have been completely deserted, while local economies, schools, and farmlands have been destroyed by the unrelenting attacks.
According to him, “Within the last month alone, not fewer than twelve forest guards and local vigilante members were killed in an ambush by armed bandits in Oke-Ode.
He lamented that the attackers, mostly foreign armed elements operating with local informants, had established hideouts within forests along the Kwara–Kogi–Ekiti boundary axis, from where they launch raids on unsuspecting villages.
Ashiru noted that while there have been some government responses, such as sporadic patrols and raids, the efforts remained largely “episodic, inadequate, and reactive,” leaving vast areas ungoverned.
He warned that if the situation was not urgently contained, the crisis could spread to other parts of the North Central and South West regions, threatening wider national stability.
Following extensive debate, the Senate unanimously resolved to urge the federal government to establish a permanent military base in Kwara South, near the forest belts of Ifelodun Local Government Area, to serve as a rapid response hub against armed incursions in the zone.
Senators recounted the terrible state of insecurity in their various senatorial districts and urged the federal government and subnational to come up with proactive strategies to tackle the unfortunate development.
The upper chamber also mandated the Chief of Defence Staff and Inspector-General of Police to deploy additional troops and special units to clear the forests and restore normalcy to the affected communities.
In addition, the Senate called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately provide humanitarian relief to displaced persons in Ifelodun and other affected areas, while also urging the federal government to compensate the families of fallen forest guards and vigilantes who died defending their communities.
Furthermore, the Senate mandated its Committees on Defence, Police Affairs, and National Security and Intelligence to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the affected areas and report back within two weeks.
The red chamber also agreed to invite the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Inspector-General of Police to brief it on the coordinated federal response to the crisis in Kwara South.
It, however, concluded the session with a minute of silence in honour of the slain forest guards, vigilantes, traditional rulers, and innocent citizens who lost their lives to bandit attacks in the region.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, while commending Senator Ashiru for bringing the matter before the chamber, assured the people that the upper legislative house would not fold its arms in the face of such grave security challenges threatening lives and livelihoods in the North Central region.
“The Senate will stand by the people of Kwara South. We cannot allow any part of this country to become a killing field. Security is a shared national responsibility, and the Federal Government must act decisively to protect citizens wherever they live,” Akpabio said.
Meanwhile, Governor AbdulRazaq, who met with President Bola Tinubu on the issue at the weekend on the sideline of the visit to Jos, has commended the president for the support, and the military high-command and allied security forces for the renewed intervention to eliminate all threats to public safety in the state.
The Nigerian Army headquarters had deployed a full brigade and heavy equipment in different parts of Kwara South, as troops were already milling through communities inward Oke Ode and Babanla, both in Ifelodun Local Government Area.
The operation has also extended to Edu and Patigi to comb through thick forests from which kidnappers have launched cowardly attacks on different communities and abducted people in return for ransom.
“We will not spare any resources in support of the military, DSS, police, and other security agencies as they work to strengthen security of lives and properties,” the governor said in a statement welcoming the army deployment on Wednesday.
“We are upbeat that this operation, as part of the Operation Fasan Yanma, will eliminate all of forms of threats in affected areas in Kwara South and Kwara North. I thank the President and the security agencies for the efforts so far.
“As I said a few days ago, we just need to double our efforts to save the people. We are confident that the Brigadier General A.A. Babatunde-led Army Brigade will succeed in this important task and clear the entire areas,” he added in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye.
He also commended the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Army Staff, the General Officer Commanding of the 2nd Division, and every other officer for their support.
Sunday Aborisade
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