Photos Of Moment Kwara State Protesters Burn NDLEA Office And Vandalize Emir’s Palace

The palace of the Emir of Lafiagi, headquarters of Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, and the office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in the town were set ablaze on Monday as youths protested the rising cases of kidnapping in the area.

Tension gripped the Lafiagi community on Monday following a protest by youths in the community to express their feelings on the abduction of a prominent agro-chemical dealer, widely known as Alhaji Chemical, on Sunday.

According to reports, Alhaji Chemical was reportedly abducted from his home in the Taiwo area of the town around 1 am on Sunday by gunmen suspected to be bandits.

The attackers, said to have arrived on motorcycles, overpowered local vigilantes with heavy gunfire before abducting the businessman.

Sources in the community believed the operation was targeted and well-planned, given the victim’s prominence and the precision of the attack.

The development has, however, sparked fresh anxiety in the Lafiagi community, where residents say cases of kidnapping have become increasingly frequent.

In response to the latest incident, angry residents staged protests on Monday, blocking roads, burning used tyres, and demanding urgent government intervention.

Protesters in a viral video cited the recent abduction of a young man operating a point-of-sale business as further evidence of growing insecurity in the area.

“The situation is getting out of hand.

“We can’t sleep with our eyes closed anymore. People are being taken almost weekly now,” one resident said in the video circulating during the protest.

Residents urged security agencies to intensify patrols, track down the kidnappers, and ensure the safe return of those abducted.

The state Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, confirmed the incident on Monday.

Ojo, who said that he was in Lafiagi alongside Brigade Commander of 22 Brigade, Sobi, Ilorin, stated that the protest was organised by some miscreants who damaged some louvres in the Emir’s palace and torched the office of the NDLEA in the community.

“The miscreants who ran away on sighting the police and the soldiers also freed four suspects who were in detention at the NDLEA office, Lafiagi.

“As I’m speaking with you now, the police, soldiers, hunters, and the local vigilantes are in the bush in Lafiagi in search of those kidnapped by the bandits, and the Brigade Commander has addressed them”, the police commissioner disclosed in a telephone conversation with Punch correspondent.

Recall that the Kwara State Police Command last week confirmed the abduction of a 12-year-old girl identified as Hassana Abdullahi at Gaa Ayetoro, Lile village, while three people were also killed in Mari village on Wednesday in Mari village in Patigi Local Government Area of the state.