Youths in Eruku, in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, blocked the Ilorin–Kabba highway on Wednesday to protest a late-night bandit attack that left the community shaken and dozens kidnapped.
The demonstrators accused security agencies of abandoning residents while the attackers operated freely.
The protest, which started early in the morning, led to a heavy traffic jam on the major highway. Long lines of trailers and commercial vehicles headed toward Kogi State were stuck for hours as the youths set bonfires and used stones and logs to obstruct the road.
Witnesses said the attack occurred during a church programme on Tuesday night and lasted nearly an hour. According to residents, not a single security operative responded, despite the presence of soldiers and a police station in the town.
One protester, Adesuyi Joshua, described the experience as a total collapse of security.
“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… along with about 30 other people. At first, we thought the gunshots were knockouts… By the time we mobilised ourselves to confront the attackers, it was too late.”
Another youth leader, Shola Peters Adetona, accused local police officers of neglect and betrayal.
“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… All they do here is harass young boys and tag them as Yahoo boys or cultists.”
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A member of the vigilante group, who requested anonymity, echoed fears of possible sabotage.
“It was on Sunday they took the forest guards and some of our men for training, and two days later the bandits attacked… The government must probe this. It doesn’t look like a coincidence.”
Kwara State Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, visited Eruku on Wednesday alongside the State Director of the Department of State Services. He appealed for calm, promising an immediate and forceful response.
He said more officers would be deployed to strengthen the division and announced that an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) would be stationed in the town.
“We will bring the perpetrators to justice. We are deploying more men and resources to secure this area,” he told the protesters.
The traditional ruler, Iowa Eruku Oba Busari Arinde Oyediran Olanrewaju, described the incident as deeply distressing but urged restraint.
“I want to appeal to our youths not to take matters into their hands… We need more personnel and more checkpoints because many of the bandits chased from Babanla and Baba Sango forests are hiding around this axis.”
