Terrorists suspected to be part of armed bandit groups have kidnapped a police officer in Kwara State, throwing fresh light on the worsening insecurity in the North Central region.
The victim, identified as John Ezra, was attached to the Lade Division in Patigi Local Government Area.
He was reportedly abducted on Thursday evening while returning along the Lade–Patigi road after official duty.
Local sources told Premium Times that Ezra had been on assignment at the Patigi General Hospital, where he and other security personnel were deployed for protection.
“He was returning from the hospital when the gunmen seized him,” a resident revealed, adding that fears are mounting in the community.
When contacted, police spokesperson in Kwara State, Ejire-Adeyemi Adetoun, said the command had yet to receive full details of the abduction but assured that more information would be provided.
The development comes despite President Tinubu’s recent claims that Nigeria is “winning the war” against terrorism and banditry. Communities in Kwara say the reality on the ground tells a different story.
Over the past months, Patigi, Edu, and Ifelodun local government areas have suffered relentless attacks.
More than 30 villages have been raided, with killings and mass abductions reported.
In May, a pharmacist was murdered in Gbado village for resisting kidnappers, while in June, armed men killed a miner and his son in Lile village.
Last Sunday, terrorists ambushed Oke Ode in Ifelodun, killing at least 15 vigilantes and hunters.
Dozens of villagers were abducted during that raid.
Experts warn that Kwara’s geographical position linking Northern and South-Western Nigeria makes it a strategic target. Security analysts further point to cross-border infiltration, with groups linked to Ansaru and Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) exploiting ungoverned forest areas that connect Nigeria to Benin.
Both groups are internationally designated as terrorist organisations and have ties to al-Qaeda’s Sahel networks.
The abduction of Officer Ezra underscores the scale of insecurity in Kwara and raises urgent questions about the government’s counter-terrorism strategy.