A wave of unrest swept through Lafiagi in Kwara State on Monday as angry youths took to the streets in a dramatic protest against the escalating insecurity plaguing their communities. The protest, which turned violent, saw the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) office in Lafiagi set ablaze and parts of the Emir of Lafiagi’s palace vandalized.
The unrest was reportedly triggered by the abduction of a popular Point of Sale (POS) agent, identified as Yman, on Sunday night, followed by the kidnapping of two other residents in the early hours of Monday during a raid on Kokodo village. These incidents are the latest in a string of abductions and violent attacks that have left residents in fear and frustration.
Eyewitnesses described the protest as a culmination of months of bottled-up anger over what they perceive as government inaction and neglect. “We have been crying and dying in silence,” one resident lamented. “People are being kidnapped every week. We don’t sleep with our two eyes closed anymore, and nobody—not the governor, not the chairman, not even the Emir—is doing anything about it.”
The protesters, mostly local youths, demanded urgent intervention from both state and federal authorities to address the rising wave of kidnappings, killings, and terrorist attacks in Kwara North. The situation has left many communities feeling abandoned and vulnerable.