Kwara communities cry for help over bandits’ killings, kidnappings

Abdullahi Tsowa killed by bandits

By Mohammed Abdullahi

Mohammed Abdullahi, a concerned and worried indigene of Esun Tauheed in Edu local government area of Kwara State is crying and appealing to both the state and federal governments to immediately come to their aid over recent killings and kidnappings in Edu and Patigi local government areas of the state, by bandits.

Find below, the save our soul message sent to DAYLIGHT over the weekend, by traumatised Abdullahi, a medical student at the Kwara State University, who recently lost one of his nephews to the bandits.

“For over three months now, our communities in Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas of Kwara State have been under relentless attack by bandits. These criminal elements have turned once peaceful villages into killing fields. They operate not only at night but also in broad daylight, with no atom of fear, abducting, robbing, and killing our loved ones.

The efforts of government so far can best be described as token and ineffective. What we see are long epistles of sympathy released after every tragedy, yet nothing concrete is done to confront these evils or bring their perpetrators to justice.

The toll on our communities is staggering. In just three months, more than one hundred lives have been lost to bandit attacks. Families are devastated daily, and ransom payments have drained the little wealth we have—over ₦200 million has been collected by these bandits as ransom so far. Despite these payments, safety is not guaranteed. The crisis has taken an even deadlier dimension, where victims are now abducted and killed without any demand for ransom.

A fresh tragedy occurred only this week. My nephew, Abdullahi Tsowa, was abducted on the 21st of August, 2025, at Esun Tauheed. Today, we buried him after his lifeless body was discovered. He was killed without the slightest negotiation. To my nephew, I say: May Allāh accept your soul into paradise. But to the state and federal governments, I ask: how many more Abdullahi Tsowas must be buried before action is taken?