ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Armed bandits holding at least 22 persons hostage across several communities in Kwara South are demanding huge cash ransoms alongside food items and alcoholic drinks before releasing their captives, deepening fear and desperation among affected families.
According to Vanguard, the kidnappers have fixed an aggregate ransom of over N400 million, in addition to supplies such as foodstuffs and drinks, for victims abducted from Adanla, Isapa, Isanlu-Isin and Owa-Onire communities.
The bandits are said to be operating mainly in areas with little or no security presence, having allegedly shifted from communities like Okeode, Babanla and Eruku, where military formations were recently established, to more vulnerable locations.
Among those still in captivity are nine persons, including the monarch of Afin in the Ile-Ere district, Oba Simeon Olanipekun, his son Olaolu, and a youth corps member abducted in December.
Also being held are nine residents abducted in Isapa, two persons kidnapped along the Isanlu-Isin highway, and two victims seized in Owa-Onire last December.
Confirming the situation, the Olowa of Owa-Onire, Oba AbdulRahman Fabiyi, said the two victims from his community remain in the hands of their abductors despite partial payments.
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“We have paid them N2 million already,” the monarch said.
“They later reduced the balance to N800,000 and gave us a list of foods and drinks we must bring before the two persons can be released.”
The monarch, who himself was kidnapped in 2024 and released after a N5 million ransom, lamented the absence of security in the area, warning that ransom payments only fuel repeated attacks.
“Whenever they finish the money and food supplied, they come back again,” he said.
“We urgently need a police station in Owa-Onire to stop this cycle.”
In Adanla community, Ifelodun Local Government Area, bandits are demanding N300 million for the release of nine victims abducted on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025.
Coordinator of the Joint Security Watch for Kwara South, Zubair Olaitan, said the bandits have contacted community leaders three times, insisting that no victim would be freed unless the full amount is paid.
The victims were abducted during an attempted raid on the palace of the community’s monarch, Oba David Olarinoye, who was away in Igbaja at the time. After failing to capture the king and his wife, the bandits seized nine residents and marched them into the forest.
In Isapa, Ekiti Local Government Area, 11 persons are still in captivity, with bandits demanding N35 million after earlier asking for N300 million, citing previous ransom payments made by neighbouring communities.
The Akeweje of Isapa land, Chief Idowu Sunday, said attempts to deliver N4 million as part payment backfired when the bandits seized two of the emissaries.
“They collected the money and called it a recharge card,” he said.
“They then held the two people and added them to the captives, making it 11.”
He added that the bandits have issued threats to kill the captives and launch fresh attacks on the community if their demands are not met.
In a disturbing incident, a pregnant Hausa woman among the captives was reportedly brought out to a stream in Oro-Ago when she went into labour, before being returned to captivity.
Explaining the challenge of tackling banditry in the zone, Olaitan said the vast forests, hills, caves and porous borders in Kwara South give criminals an operational advantage.
“The terrain provides safe havens,” he said.
“There is also local collaboration in some cases food, shelter and intelligence which makes tracking them difficult.”
He added that the state government, working with federal agencies, has deployed forest guards, launched joint patrols, and arrested suspected suppliers of weapons, food and logistics to the bandits.
“Some successes have been recorded, but efforts are ongoing to fully comb the forests and dismantle these camps,” Olaitan said.
Residents and traditional rulers across the affected communities are now urging the Kwara State Government to urgently expand security presence, warning that ransom-driven kidnappings will persist unless armed groups are decisively dislodged.