Kogi West Under Siege: Fear, Death and Desperation as Bandits Terrorise Yoruba-Speaking Communities

By Queen Madaki | The Bureau News

Kogi West Senatorial District, home to the Yoruba-speaking population of Kogi State, has become a dangerous zone where farmers abandon fields, residents flee villages, and communities mourn daily casualties from unending bandit attacks.

Spanning seven local government areas — including Yagba East, Yagba West, Mopamuro, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Lokoja, and Koton Karfe — the region once known for its peaceful, agrarian lifestyle is now under siege. Villages have turned into ghost settlements, forests into bandit camps, and roads into death traps.

Residents told The Bureau News that people now live “in perpetual fear,” with night-time raids, kidnappings, and murders becoming routine. “We don’t sleep with our eyes closed anymore. Every noise sounds like gunfire,” said a local vigilante from Yagba West.

Roads of Terror and Government Neglect

The situation is worsened by the collapse of the Ilorin–Omuaran–Kabba Highway and other key routes, which now aid criminals’ mobility. Security response has become slow and dangerous due to the absence of motorable roads. Many communities are inaccessible even to military patrols.

According to the Okun Development Association (ODA), which represents the Yoruba-speaking people of Kogi, worsening insecurity has devastated social and economic life. Farmers have stopped planting, traders avoid markets, and small businesses are shutting down.

“Our people no longer feel safe returning home. Markets are empty, businesses are collapsing, and farmlands are now death zones,” lamented ODA President-General, Akenson Rotimi.

He recalled the abduction of Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, the first-class monarch of Okoloke, and the killing of local hunters who tried to rescue him. Since 2021, he said, the killings and abductions have continued “unabated.”

Timeline of Bloodshed

• January 2025: Bandits ambushed a funeral ambulance between Egbe and Ponyan, killing undertaker Segun Adekoya.
• May 2025: Oba Ogunyanda was abducted in Yagba West; three vigilantes were killed in a follow-up attack.
• June 2025: 26 suspects were arrested in raids across the forests of Kogi West, including locals supplying bandits with food and logistics.
• September 2025: Three police officers were killed at Ofili checkpoint, Egbe, when bandits ambushed security operatives.
• October 2025: 27 residents were massacred in Bareke community, Egbe, when gunmen stormed homes around 2 a.m., setting houses ablaze and abducting several villagers.

Witnesses said the attackers arrived on motorcycles, shooting indiscriminately. Among those killed was the family of a local farmer, while his wife and two children were abducted. The assault took place close to the residence of Senator Sunday Karimi, who represents Kogi West.

Mining, Banditry and the Forest Wars

Investigations by The Bureau News reveal that many of the bandit hideouts overlap with illegal mining zones, especially across Egbe, Isanlu, Aiyetoro-Gbede and Bunu forests. Security agents believe that proceeds from illegal gold and mineral mining fund the armed groups terrorising the region.

Governor Usman Ododo, who visited Yagba West after the Bareke massacre, blamed the crisis on “illegal and unregulated mining.” He immediately banned all mining activities in Kogi West pending a government audit of licenses.

“The scramble for gold has turned our forests into criminal enclaves. We will cut off their financial pipelines and dismantle these networks,” Ododo said.

“We Are in Trouble Here” — Locals Cry Out

Residents across Okunland have appealed to the federal government for urgent intervention, saying the situation is beyond what the state can handle. “We are in trouble here. Our roads are bad, our forests are unsafe, and our farms are gone,” said Moses Folorunsho from Odo-Ere community.

According to Okun Renaissance Union (ORU) President, Temitope Bamkefa, “Kogi West is gradually becoming another Benue or Plateau. Bandits roam freely, and help is hours away.”

Calls for Federal Action

Despite ongoing operations such as Operation Accord III in Yagba, Kabba-Bunu, and Ijumu, the violence continues. Several leaders, including Afenifere, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, and Senator Sunday Karimi, have urged President Bola Tinubu to act decisively before the zone collapses completely.

Community leaders warn that unless the government reclaims the forests, repairs rural roads, and regulates mining, Kogi West may slide into full-scale anarchy.

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