Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Residents of Omugo in the Oro-Ago District of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State have abandoned their homes following renewed fears of terrorist attacks, occasioned by the kidnapping of eight worshippers in the agrerian community.
Members of the community who voiced out said the once-active settlement is now largely deserted, with only local vigilantes and hunters left behind to guard abandoned homes and properties.
Addressing Journalists in Ilorin, the spokesperson for concerned residents, Jimoh Olaitan, appealed to the government to urgently restore security presence in the community to allow displaced families return safely.
The community recalled that 18 days earlier, terrorists stormed an Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) service during worship and abducted eight elderly worshippers, an incident that has deepened fear and forced many residents to flee.
Olaitan said the abductors initially demanded N1 billion as ransom before reducing it to N150 million, a figure he described as far beyond what the victims’ families and the community can raise.
His words, “Omugo community is deserted. People are moving out in droves. If you go there now, you will only meet vigilantes and hunters who are securing the property left behind. We have a police post but no police personnel manning the station.”
He added that repeated attacks had left residents traumatised, stressing that the community could no longer function normally under constant threat.
Olaitan further called for a coordinated security response to rescue the abducted worshippers, the immediate deployment of police personnel back to the area, and the establishment of a permanent security base.
He described the situation as a “brutal assault on our faith, our dignity, and our very right to exist,” while urging authorities to act swiftly before the situation worsens further.
