The Igbomina Professional Association has expressed deep concern over what it describes as the “rising wave of insecurity” threatening villages, families, and communities across Igbomina land and the wider Kwara South Senatorial District.
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by its President, Barrister Bode Iranloye, Esq., the association said insecurity has become a recurring menace undermining peace, agriculture, commerce, and the very fabric of communal life.
While acknowledging the efforts of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Executive Governor of Kwara State, alongside local government chairmen in Ifelodun, Irepodun, Isin, and Ekiti, as well as security agencies, the association stressed that more coordinated, sustainable, and community-driven measures are urgently required to stem the tide of violence.
The association outlined a series of urgent recommendations to tackle the insecurity crisis:
- Strengthening Community Security Structures: Integration of vigilante groups and local hunters into the Nigerian Police under proper regulation, while empowering traditional rulers to play a stronger role in intelligence gathering.
- Economic Empowerment and Job Creation: Establishment of skill acquisition centres, agricultural support schemes, and digital training hubs to reduce youth unemployment and curb poverty-driven crimes.
- Education, Enlightenment, and Value Reorientation: Revival of Omoluabi values of discipline and integrity through moral and religious education, complemented by sustained sensitization campaigns against criminal activities.
- Intelligence and Technology: Deployment of drones, emergency hotlines, and community alert apps for early warning, as well as enhanced data collection for residents and visitors at the local government level.
- Collaboration Between Security Agencies: Improved synergy among the Police, NSCDC, DSS, Amotekun, and the Military, with tighter surveillance of border communities adjoining Kogi, Ekiti, and Osun States.
- Political Will and Good Governance: Ensuring sincerity of leadership, equal enforcement of the rule of law, and provision of better financial, material, and welfare support for security operatives.
- Dialogue and Conflict Resolution: Strengthening farmer-herder peace platforms, convening regular youth town halls, and holding periodic reviews of local government security challenges.
- Role of Citizens and Media: Promoting community vigilance through the “see something, say something” approach, responsible parenting, and proactive media engagement to inform the public and counter misinformation.
Beyond its recommendations, the association also urged the government and relevant agencies to identify displaced persons in the affected areas and provide them with relief materials, in addition to the support already being offered by host communities.
It further emphasized the urgent need to establish a permanent Army base in Igbomina land to reinforce existing security structures.
The association insisted that insecurity cannot be solved by security agencies alone, stressing that lasting peace in Kwara South requires the joint commitment of government, traditional institutions, religious leaders, media, and citizens.
“Lasting peace in Igbomina land requires the joint commitment of government, traditional institutions, religious bodies, media, and citizens working together in sincerity and truth,” the statement reads.
It further noted that unless poverty, unemployment, and moral decay are addressed with urgency, sustainable peace will remain elusive in Kwara South and across Nigeria.
The association therefore called for sincerity of purpose and collective responsibility to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of citizens in the region.
