Tears in Ekiti as Bandits Lay Seige On Ajoni Communities, Kill Elderly Woman, Abduct Residents, Demand Ransom for Corpse

A deep pall of fear and grief has descended on Irele and Ijowa communities in Ajoni Local Council Development Area of Ekiti State, following a sustained and brutal siege by armed bandits that has left residents traumatized, livelihoods shattered, and lives lost.

For more than 11 days, the assailants have reportedly held the communities hostage, abducting no fewer than five persons and killing an elderly woman, whose family was cruelly ordered to pay ₦1.5 million before her corpse could be released for burial.

Speaking on behalf of the affected communities, High Chief Kehinde Abejide, the Akogun of Irele Kingdom, described the attacks as a reign of terror marked by “abandoned recklessness” and growing impunity. According to him, the nightmare began about two weeks ago when a young farmer was kidnapped on his farmland. Three days later, the kidnappers demanded ₦10 million for his release.

“Our people in Irele, Ijowa, and Oke-Ako are prisoners in their own homes,” the chief lamented. “Farming activities have stopped, cross-border trade has collapsed, and fear has become our daily companion.”

He recounted a particularly harrowing incident in which the bandits opened fire on a young man and his mother, popularly known as Mummy Isaac, as they rode home from the farm on a motorcycle. While the young man narrowly escaped with gunshot wounds to the chest and is currently receiving treatment at Federal Medical Centre, Ikole-Ekiti, his mother was less fortunate.

“She fell during the attack,” the chief said, his voice heavy with sorrow. “They dragged her into the forest. Later, they summoned the family, showed them her lifeless body, and told them to go and look for money.”

Even as the community reels from this loss, the violence has continued unabated. During the phone interview, Chief Abejide disclosed that four more persons had just been abducted, underscoring the worsening security situation.

“These bandits now operate with frightening confidence,” he said. “Our people are angry, helpless, and abandoned.”

The traditional leader made an emotional appeal to Biodun Oyebanji and state security agencies to urgently intervene before the communities are completely overrun.

The renewed wave of violence comes despite earlier relief experienced after the deployment of troops from the Nigerian Army, which had temporarily curtailed bandit activities in the area.

Residents fear a repeat of the tragic events of 2024, when two high-ranking traditional rulers were assassinated by bandits in Ipao, a neighbouring community—an incident that later spread to parts of Kogi State.

Today, in Irele and Ijowa, sorrow hangs thick in the air as families mourn, farmers abandon their fields, and communities wait anxiously—hoping help will come before more lives are lost.