LAYI OLANREWAJU, Ilorin
Residents of Ilorin metropolis are currently living in a palpable fear following a relapse in the security situation in the Kwara state capital.
Kidnappers and hoodlums have reportedly found their ways into the town unleashing their nefarious activities on the residents.
One of these incidents was the abduction of a director in the state civil service, Alhaji Hakeem Olarewaju Idris on Oct 7, 2020.
Idris was said to be returning from his farm at Alapa in the Asa Local Government Area of the state when he was waylaid and held by his abductors.
The victim, who is the Director, Expenditure Control at the State Ministry of Finance was released some days after following the payment of a ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
This deteriorating security situation has therefore called for a serious concern among the relevant stakeholders in the Ilorin Emirate and the state at large.
This ugly occurrence, many viewed as alien to the custom and tradition of the Emirate .
When contacted,the Public Relations Officer of the Kwara Police Command
SP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the story.
Meanwhile, various development associations in the city have decried the rising rate of the insecurity in the five Local Government Areas that made up the Ilorin Emirate.
Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association, IEYDA, in a statement jointly signed by its National President, Alhaji Babatunde Salaudeen and the National Publicity, Alhaji Uthman Jagunma and made available to newsmen, expressed worries over the deteriorating security situation in the ancient city.
According to it, the peace and harmony for which the city and indeed the entire state is known, is now rapidly deteriorating.
The association said that kidnappers and hoodlums had found their ways to the city and the state at large.
The association said that it was concerned with the way the hoodlums had been holding the people of the state into ransom in the course of struggling for survival.
Many of the residents, it said, could no longer walk freely and sleep with their two eyes closed, owing to fear of being robbed or kidnapped, adding that this was against the peaceful nature of the city.
The association called on Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the traditional council, security agencies and other relevant stakeholders to wade in and address the security challenges by flushing out the perpetrators of the dastardly acts.
“We also call on the community and traditional security outfits, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), the police and other security agencies to double their efforts in flushing out hoodlums and kidnappers from the emirate and the state at large.
“There can be no peace or harmony in any community or state with deteriorating security situations.
“We, therefore, call on all stakeholders to, as a matter of urgency, wake up and restore the peace and security of the emirate and the entire state,” it said.