Kwara Demonstrators Issue 72-Hour Ultimatum to Government Over Unresolved Kidnappings

Members of the Take-It-Back Movement staged a peaceful demonstration in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, demanding the immediate rescue of residents currently held by kidnappers and issuing a 72-hour ultimatum to the state government.

The protest, which coincided with Democracy Day celebrations, began around 7:00 a.m. at Tanke Junction. Demonstrators marched through major thoroughfares before converging on the Government House along Ahmadu Bello Way to deliver their demands directly to authorities.

The demonstration follows a surge in abductions and violent attacks across several local government areas, particularly impacting Edu, Patigi, Ifelodun, and multiple communities in Kwara South.

Addressing the crowd at the Government House, Saidu Tsaragi, the Kwara State Coordinator for the movement, stated that regional insecurity has overshadowed national celebrations for families whose relatives are missing. He noted that multiple individuals from Yaashikira, alongside residents from other affected local government areas, remain in captivity.

Protesters called on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to prioritize security operations or step aside for leadership capable of handling the state’s security challenges.

They criticized what they described as a failure of the administration’s constitutional duty to safeguard citizens, comparing the current security climate to a spreading public health emergency that requires decisive, systemic intervention.

The civil society organization emphasized that the demonstration was entirely non-political, driven strictly by the escalation of rural banditry and abductions.

Leadership of the movement warned that if the state government fails to secure the release of the victims within 72 hours, they will mobilize wider demonstrations across Kwara State on Monday and formally petition the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the region.