Exclusive: NSA Officials and Kwara State Government Abandoned Us, Says Eyewitness

At least 16 vigilantes were killed in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, on Monday after a joint security operation against heavily armed bandits collapsed amid allegations of neglect, unpaid allowances, and government abandonment. An eyewitness who confided in UnfilteredReporting disclosed this in an exclusive account.

The eyewitness alleged that the National Security Adviser (NSA) officials who initially coordinated the operation returned to Abuja, leaving frontline officers, vigilantes, and local communities vulnerable.

“The allowances they promised us, nothing was given to us. Since the NSA officials left, nothing has been done,” he said.

According to him, the mission began with special forces, police officers, and vigilantes lodged at Olaiya Hotel in Oke-Ode, where they were issued AK-47 rifles. However, the hotel stopped providing food and accommodation after receiving only ₦1 million of the ₦2 million budgeted for lodging, forcing security personnel onto the streets and into police stations.

During the first encounter, the eyewitness revealed, over 3,000 bandits hijacked two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), destroyed a rocket launcher, and killed several vigilantes. The bandits later launched another night attack, killing 16 vigilantes after students from a nearby School of Nursing were escorted out of the community for safety.

“Everyone in the community has run away, leaving just the police station untouched at least for now,” he said, warning that the scale of the crisis was being downplayed.

He further alleged that Air Force personnel deployed to the area excused their inability to strike, citing poor visibility.

The eyewitness added that security chiefs were “feeding lies” to the Kwara State Governor while frontline officers were rotated without proper planning or resources.

“Today, they changed the frontline officers to new ones,” he noted.

“We are begging our people to please speak out,” the eyewitness pleaded.

As of the time of filing this report, both the Kwara State Government and the Office of the National Security Adviser had not responded to inquiries on the allegations.