Owa-Onire: The Kwara Community Bandits Chased Away

Farms abandoned, schools closed, homes looted. For months, residents of Owa-Onire have fled repeated attacks as security forces fail to respond, writes ABDULLAHI OLESIN

At noon, Owa-Onire is silent. The market that once thronged with traders from Asa, Ilorin and neighbouring villages now holds only broken stalls and weeds. Doors hang loose on abandoned homes. A chalkboard in the only public primary school still reads “Week 6: Mathematics,” frozen since the last pupils fled.

For years, bandits have turned this farming community into a target. Attacks come at night — gunfire, torched motorcycles, kidnapped farmers. With each raid, more families load their belongings onto trucks and leave. Those who remain move in groups and return to their farms only in daylight, if at all.

Today, Owa-Onire exists mostly in memory. Farms that fed Kwara lie fallow. Churches and mosques hold services with a handful of worshippers. Youths who grew up here now sleep in IDP camps in Afon and Ilorin, or hawk goods in city markets.

The people call it exile, not migration. Bandits did not just steal cattle and cash. They chased away a community. And with no sustained security response, Owa-Onire keeps emptying, one family at a time.

The home of an international tourist site, Owu Waterfall, in the Owa-Onire community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, has become a ghost town following incessant bandit attacks on residents.

As of this report, the once-bubbling agrarian community has been deserted by its residents, including the town’s traditional ruler.

However, a prince of Owa-Onire, popularly known as Lekan, decided to stay back and live all alone in the troubled community.

This came to public attention on Wednesday, 9 June 2026, when security operatives from the Drone Unit, MOPOL, and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad stormed Owa-Onire as part of efforts to screen the Kwara south forest belts.

According to a viral social media post, the team of about 100 troops was visibly surprised to find the community empty, with no sign of life.

“The operation is in line with efforts by the Inspector General of Police to secure Kwara South through systematic screening of the forest belts, with ground troops following up with positive action. Divided into groups, the teams are working across various locations and forests in Kwara South, especially Ifelodun, Isin, Oke-Ero, and Ekiti LGAs.

“As operatives moved through Owa Onire town with a drone overhead, a man surfaced and described himself as “the landlord.” And he was. A prince of the town, Lekan, now has the deserted houses — including a big mansion, the mosque, and the church — to himself.

“Asked why he remained, Lekan replied simply: ‘Bororo’s War’ drove his people away. But the war didn’t start with a single raid. Owa-Onire has faced persistent bandit attacks and multiple kidnappings. The turning point came when the monarch himself was abducted and held in the forests for months until a heavy ransom was paid. After that, the attacks never really stopped.”

“Owa-Onire’s collapse mirrors what’s happening across Kwara South. At least 28 communities in Ifelodun LGA have been deserted, and the wave has spread into Isin LGA, sweeping up Oro-Ago, Omugo, Ahun, Oke-Oyan, Owa-Kajola, Owa-Onire, and Oba. Residents say suspected bandits have overrun more than 23 villages, chasing families from ancestral homes and leaving ghost towns in their wake.

“On survival, Lekan said he had no problem feeding himself from his farm, noting that nothing could be bought within the community or nearby.’’

The team leader gave Lekan N10,000 as a gift, which he gladly accepted. Lekan said he would use it to improve his upkeep by travelling to Okeonigbin to buy foodstuffs.

“He also told the team that a group of people had invaded the community the previous day, but he could not say what their mission was or what was missing.”

“Assessing the situation, the team comprising senior officers from Abuja and Lagos assured that, based on what they saw, they would recommend adequate security measures to enable the residents of deserted communities, including Owa-Onire, to return home as soon as possible. They described the situation as unacceptable and requiring urgent solutions,” the statement said.

The chairman of Owa Onire Community Development Association, Mr James Awoyemi, confirmed the community’s desertion by its people.

He, however, expressed the people’s readiness to return home if water-tight security arrangements are put in place to guarantee the safety of lives and property.

Awoyemi said: “We deserted our community because of the incessant attacks by the kidnappers. We have relocated to safer places. We are eager to return home, but we want the government to beef up security in our community and its environs. They should provide us with at least a police post. This will encourage our people to return home. We are not comfortable in the areas where we are presently taking refuge because we cannot go to the farm, which is our main source of livelihood. We want to return home, if possible, this afternoon (Wednesday).”

A community leader who spoke with emotion, Alh Jimoh Kareem said:

“We have a harrowing experience. Seven times we were attacked consecutively. We don’t have weapons. Hunters are ready to sacrifice their lives, but they don’t have sophisticated weapons. If we have weapons, we can face the bandits. We have paid a ransom of over N50m. Between December 2025 and 1 January 2026, they ( the bandits) attempted to kidnap Kabiyesi. They have taken him but released him on compassionate grounds. They took his daughter in his place, released her 2 months after the ransom payment. Engineers working on our roads were abducted. Their employees paid ransom before they were released. Since then, they have not returned to the site. We can’t go to the farm and market again. Truly, most of our people have left, but some stay behind. We are frustrated.”

Another community leader, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “The problem of insecurity has forced us to abandon our ancestral home. Only one person remains in the community. The Fulani, who were driven away from our communities, are the ones troubling us. We can’t go to the farm again. The government should provide adequate security so we can return home. Even three days ago (Monday), the bandits attacked the Famole community and killed one hunter. The Agbe community on the Oke-Ode axis was also attacked on the same day.”

The Onire of Owa-Onire, Oba AbdulRahman Lawal Ifabiyi, who spoke with our reporter from Saudi Arabia, where he had gone to perform this year’s Hajj, confirmed that only Prince Lekan, whom he described as his junior brother, remains in the community.

The monarch said, ” The only person that remains in Owa – Onire, Lekan, is my junior brother. Our people have deserted the community. Some even tried to return to plant maize in their farms, but they left again when the bandits attacked the community again last week. We’ve written letters to the governor. I even visited the governor in Ilorin to brief him on our predicament. The day the bandits attacked my palace, they broke the palace’s door with a gun. I escaped, but they picked a girl from the palace. She spent 70 days with them before she was released. That was the day the monarch of Adanla was kidnapped. ”

On his efforts to get his community secured, the monarch said: “We’ve written letters, and I was personally with the commissioner of Police before I left for pilgrimage regarding the security situation in Owa-Onire. The formal steps have been taken. The meetings have been held. What remains missing is the sustained presence that allows displaced families to return without fear.”

Oba Ifabiyi thanked the federal and Kwara State governments for their concerns over his people’s plight, but pleaded with them to do more.

He specifically thanked the inspector general of police for sending troops to Owa-Onire on Wednesday to comb the forest.

The story of kidnapping and banditry in Owa-Onire, according to a report obtained from the chairman of the town’s development association, showed that the bitter experience began in October 2022, when the Onire of Owa-Onire was kidnapped along with his driver and one other person with the Olori. Still, the latter was later dropped because she could not cope on her return home from a journey.

On 3 July 2025, a farmer, Alh Isiaq Ayub Aremu, was kidnapped on his farm but was lucky enough to escape from the hands of the kidnappers after spending four nights with them in the bush.

Another incident occurred on 6 September 2025, when two women (Mrs Alice Oni and Mrs Comfort Soko Samuel) were attacked in their homes in the dead of the night.

Another incident occurred on Wednesday, 8 October 2025, when a farmer, Abdullahi Sanu, nicknamed “Ten Naira naa-ni” (it is just ten naira), was returning from his farm on a motorcycle when he was attacked and shot in the buttocks by the kidnappers.

On 27 October 2025, an Okada man from Oke-Onigbin, who was transporting Mr Agu, his wife and their child to Owa-Onire, was attacked and abducted by the kidnappers for about eight days before they regained their freedom.

On the same day, 27 October 2025, the kidnappers attacked the team of vigilante/local hunters, assigned by the community to ensure the safety of the workers on the road construction site.

On 8 December 2025, Chief Fatai Ajulo and Mr Victor Oni, a retired teacher, were abducted on their farm.

“It is recalled that construction of an 8km (phase I) out of the 15km road stretch leading directly to the bottom of the star tourist site (Owu Falls) is ongoing. This was graciously approved by His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, and is at an advanced stage of completion. Most unfortunately, on 14/12/2025, five workers (2 engineers from the Ministry of Works and three other workers) were kidnapped right at the road construction site. They remained in the kidnappers’ custody for 10 weeks before they were released.”

“The very frightened incident occurred on 27 December 2025 when the community’s peace was again broken by the attack of these kidnappers, killing one of the community’s vigilante/local hunters, shot two people (one just came out of the intensive care of an hospital after surgery operation very close to his heart from the gun shot) and abducted 2 others (a girl and a boy) both of which stayed for over two months before their freedom could be secured.

“Another case occurred on 1 February 2026, when a Benue State boy, Daniel, who was living in Owa-Onire with his brother, went to their cashew farm but was attacked by the kidnappers, who succeeded in abducting the junior brother”

“It should be noted that the Owa-Onire community has never failed to make adequate reports of all these incidents to the appropriate security agencies/offices whenever such incidents happened.

” As a result of these harrowing experiences and the fact that our local hunters and vigilantes do not have adequate weapons to repel these marauders, even though

When they were ready, many families had fled the community to other places, such as Ilorin, Oke-Onigbin, Ajasse, Ife, Ondo, and Omu-Aran, which they considered much safer. His Royal Highness, Oba Ramonu Ifabiyi, Onire of Owa-Onire, had to reluctantly leave the community and relocate elsewhere, where the necessary help could not be obtained.

In light of all this, Owa-Onire Community has appealed to the relevant authorities to provide the necessary security logistics for the community and its surroundings, to rid their forests and surrounding areas of these criminals, and to facilitate the return of their people to their ancestral home.

“The hands of the entire people of Owa-Onire Community are raised in prayer, asking all to please consider our plight and act promptly and decisively on our request,” the report, signed by the chairman of the Owa-Onire Community Development Association (OCDA), Mr James Awoyemi, and a senior community leader, Alh Jimoh Ola Kareem, added.

When contacted, the chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Hon. Femi Yusuf, said the council has finalised arrangements to launch a special security task force to provide security for what he called three isolated communities in the council, namely Owa-Onire, Owa-Kajola, and Oke-Oyan.

” What we are doing to secure the Owa – Onire and two other isolated communities in our local government, Owa – Kajola and Oke-Oyan, is enormous. We have set up a tripartite committee that would recruit hunters from the three communities. The council will train the hunters and provide them with the necessary equipment to enable them to function effectively.

‘‘Some stakeholders are helping us financially in this regard. Apart from this, we shall also put a Forest Guard Post in the area, while we will urge the police authority to do the same,” Yusuf said.

Reacting to the development, the governor’s senior special assistant on Security, Alh. Muhideen Aliyu said Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was doing everything humanly possible to keep every part of the state safe.

He said the governor’s efforts culminated in the deployment of the special MOPOL unit to Kwara South, especially to the Owa-Onire community.

Aliyu said that the state has also recruited forest guards to man security in the troubled parts of Kwara North and Kwara South, while also aiding vigilantes and local hunters in their collaboration with security agencies to keep communities safe for residents.

The security adviser said that the deployment of special troops to comb the forests of Kwara South to rout out the bandits would ultimately ensure the return of the people to their ancestral homes.

He added that the governor’s visit to the Minister of State for Defence on Wednesday was part of efforts to get the federal government’s necessary support in rooting out bandits from Kwara State.