IGBOZURUOKE MEDIA

Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has raised the alarm over worsening insecurity in the South-West, revealing that some terrorists and kidnappers now demand unusual items such as “drugs and virgins” during ransom negotiations.

In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, the group condemned the growing wave of attacks and kidnappings across several communities in the region and urged governments and security agencies to intensify efforts to curb the menace. 

Ajayi said residents of the South-West were increasingly alarmed by the frequency of violent attacks, noting that terrorists had invaded communities, attacked travelers and farmers, and targeted homes and places of worship in recent months. 

He cited incidents in states such as Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Kwara, where gunmen allegedly attacked communities, killed residents and abducted victims for ransom.

According to him, the cruelty of the attackers was evident in the nature of their ransom demands.

Ajayi said in some cases kidnappers demanded ₦1.5million, Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE, and cartons of canned beer before releasing victims.

He added that in another instance, abductors demanded virgins in exchange for the release of four men they had kidnapped. 

The Afenifere spokesman lamented that homes, once considered safe havens, were no longer secure, recounting an incident in Akure, Ondo State, where a man was shot while trying to prevent his wife from being abducted in front of their residence. 

He also referred to cases in Ekiti State where families were kidnapped from their homes, as well as reports of bandits moving from house to house in Kubwa, Abuja, robbing and abducting residents. 

Ajayi said similar attacks had been reported in other states including Plateau, Benue, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Katsina and Kaduna, warning that the security situation across the country remained alarming. 

Despite the growing threat, the Afenifere spokesman said the problem was not insurmountable, stressing that bandits were neither invisible nor invincible.

He urged the government to go after sponsors and financiers of banditry, block their sources of weapons and funding, and strengthen security operations to dismantle their hideouts. 

The group also renewed its call for the establishment of state police and asked South-West governors to intensify surveillance of forests and rural communities where criminals often operate. 

Afenifere further called for stronger collaboration between federal and state authorities to address the rising wave of terrorism and kidnapping across the country.  (Sahara Reporters)