Residents of Bayagan Ile in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State are fleeing their community in droves following a fresh attempt by bandits to abduct villagers on Sunday morning.
The development has left residents in fear and confusion, coming weeks after the sudden abduction of the community’s monarch, the Ojibara of Bayagan, Kamilu Salami, on November 29, 2025, while working on his farm.
Sources told Vanguard that residents have been relocating out of Bayagan Ile since the monarch’s kidnapping, especially after recent failed attempts by bandits to seize more villagers.
According to the accounts, an alarm raised by a community member who sighted suspected bandits on motorcycles yesterday morning triggered widespread panic and mass departure.
The community’s spokesperson, Ayinla Lawal, confirmed the exodus in an interview on Monday.
Lawal said, “Already, people have been relocating from our community since the abduction of our monarch 24 days ago.
“In fact, to say that our people have been living in serious fear and confusion over the absence of our monarch is an understatement.”
He expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of assistance from both the local and state governments.
“The worst development is that neither the local government nor even the state government is helping us in this matter,” he said.
Lawal said the community has been struggling to secure the release of their traditional ruler, who is known as a unifying figure in Bayagan Ile.
“We are begging them to please come to our rescue so that our monarch can be released.
“We have been negotiating with the bandits, begging them while we are still contributing the money,” he said.
While he declined to disclose the ransom figure, Lawal said the community has not been able to meet the bandits’ target.
He added that he last spoke with the monarch on Thursday, saying: “His spirit was very low. He was begging the community to help him so that he could leave that place alive. He said we should not let him die there.”
Lawal described how yesterday’s fresh attempt prompted renewed flight from the community.
“As we speak, our community is almost empty following a fresh abduction attempt yesterday morning.
“There was a sudden loud noise, and someone sighted groups of the bandits on motorcycles afar, so people started leaving the community in fear,” he said.
The community spokesperson appealed once again to the state government for urgent support.
“There’s nothing we can do other than to continue to beg the state government; it’s obvious that we can’t do it alone, and we don’t want our monarch to die in the captivity of the bandits,” he said.