Fatimah Otunsanya
Youths in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, on Wednesday barricaded the Ilorin–Kabba highway in protest over Tuesday night’s deadly bandit attack on the community, accusing security agencies of abandoning residents during the assault.
The demonstration, which began early in the day, caused a major gridlock along the busy road. When the newsmen visited the area around 1:30 pm, dozens of trailers and commercial vehicles heading toward Kogi State were stranded as protesters lit bonfires and used stones and logs to block the expressway.
Residents said the attack, which occurred during a church programme, lasted almost an hour without any response from security operatives stationed in the area.
One of the protesters, Adesuyi Joshua, lamented what he described as a complete security failure.
We have soldiers around this place. We also have a police station, but nothing was done throughout the attack.
“They took my wife and our granddaughter, who were in the church, along with about 30 other people. At first, we thought the gunshots were knockouts, but the sound changed. By the time we mobilised ourselves to confront the attackers, it was too late.”
Another youth leader in the town, Shola Peters Adetona, accused the police of complicity, insisting that officers failed to respond despite the community’s investment in their welfare.
These are the same police officers the town supported; we built houses for the DPO and men. When we needed them most, they failed us.
“Instead of joining us to pursue the bandits, they stopped us. The Inspector General needs to probe the Eruku division. All they do here is harass young boys and tag them as Yahoo boys or cultists.”