Villages sacked, policemen, villagers targeted
•Gov visits areas, vows stiffer measures
By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor
Kogi West Senatorial District, the Yoruba-speaking area of Kogi State, is currently under siege.
Residents of the area, which covers seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state’s 21 LGAs, live in perpetual fear. Some have deserted their villages to places they consider safe, while those who stayed back do not sleep with their eyes closed.
Even when they do, those who are lucky to wake up are confronted by gory sights and tales of bandits’ attacks. The agrarian people, known for producing the best in many fields, hardly cultivate their farmlands for fear of bandits who attack them regularly. Villages are frequently invaded, while their farmlands, apart from being plundered, are now no-go areas.
For the locals, who have long suffered neglect, especially in infrastructure, in the hands of successive state and federal governments, their once peaceful villages have become theatres of chaos. The previously calm forests, with their flora and fauna, have become safe havens for bandits.
Findings by Sunday Vanguard showed that several persons, including policemen and local vigilante members, have lost their lives in the attacks. It was learnt that the bandits relocated from some parts of the North-West and North-Central to the largely ungoverned forests. They reside in the forests from where they kidnap villagers on their farmlands, homes, and roads.
It was learnt that what makes the situation dire is the near absence of motorable roads in the area, which is being exploited by the criminals. For example, the Ilorin–Omuaran–Kabba Highway, which passes through many communities in the area, has totally collapsed following years of neglect by state and federal governments. Only a few towns, especially local government headquarters, can boast of paved roads.
