Youths set Emir’s palace, NDLEA office ablaze in Kwara

Kwara map

Angry youths in Lafiagi, headquarters of Edu local government, on Monday stormed the Palace of their monarch, the Emir of Lafiagi, and the office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the town and set them ablaze over unabated Kidnappings in the area.

Tension had gripped the Lafiagi community on Monday, a development that prompted protests by youth in the community to express their feelings on the abduction of a popular businessman.

The angry residents had earlier staged a protest on Monday over the latest kidnap incident, blocking roads, burning used tyres and demanding urgent government intervention before they went to burn their monarch’s palace and the NDLEA office.

Protesters in a viral video also cited the recent abduction of a young man operating a Point of Sale (POS) business as further evidence of growing insecurity in the area.

“The situation is getting out of hand,” one resident said in the video circulating during the protest.

“We can’t sleep with our eyes closed anymore. People are being taken almost weekly now.”

Residents are urging security agencies to intensify patrols, track down the kidnappers, and ensure the safe return of those abducted.

The burning of the monarch’s palace and the NDLEA office was fuelled by the latest abduction of a prominent agro-chemical dealer, widely known as Alhaji Chemical, on Sunday.

Locals told Vanguard that Alhaji Chemical was reportedly abducted from his home in the Taiwo area of the town around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday by gunmen suspected to be bandits.

The attackers, said to have arrived on motorcycles, overpowered local vigilantes with heavy gunfire before abducting the businessman.

Sources in the community believe the operation was targeted and well-planned, given the victim’s prominence and the precision of the attack.