Veritas News Hub | Security & Community Desk
From Saturday’s Backdrop Podcast at GPN Studios.
Disturbing accounts of unreported killings, kidnappings, and cattle rustling in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State were laid bare on Saturday during the Backdrop Podcast at GPN Studios. The revelations came from Amb. Anjorin, Chairman and Convener of Kwara for Kwarans Initiative, who said the media has only scratched the surface of the security crisis plaguing rural communities in the council.
Speaking on the program, Anjorin lashed out at the Executive Chairman of Ekiti LGA for what he described as “photo-op visits” to attack scenes without concrete measures to stop the killings. He argued that while officials show up for pictures after incidents, rural communities continue to live under siege with little intervention.
Anjorin’s comments were triggered by the recent evening church service attack in Ikerin Opin community that drew national attention. He told host and listeners that the church incident was not the first violence the area had suffered. According to him, weeks before that attack, bandits had already struck the same community multiple times.
“They killed, they kidnapped, and they rustled hundreds of cows,” Anjorin said. “In one of those attacks, they killed the two wives of a Fulani cattle owner and even his goddaughter. They warned him never to return to the bush again. That story never made the news.”
He explained that the reason many of these incidents remain hidden is because the Fulani communities involved “don’t do media.” Information only comes out when community leaders decide to speak, he added.
Another account from Ikerin Opin involved the abduction of a nursing mother and several Benue farmers who were working in charcoal production in the area. The chairman said the story was confirmed by Fulani leadership in the Ikerin Opin settlement during a live call-in session on the podcast.
The most chilling revelation came when a live call was placed to the Kebe of Woro, the traditional head of Woro community in Ekiti LGA. The monarch gave a firsthand account of a mass kidnapping that has remained unresolved.
According to the Kebe, bandits stormed Woro and abducted 176 people. Till date, nothing has been heard from the captors or from government authorities about their whereabouts. The traditional ruler said the attack left the community traumatized and economically crippled.
“Some of the women taken were heavily pregnant that day,” the Kebe told the podcast. “Three of them must have given birth in captivity by now. We are still hoping and praying for their return, but it has been silence from the bandits and from government.”
His voice broke as he described how families in Woro mark time not by calendars but by the absence of their loved ones. He expressed optimism that the captives would eventually return, but appealed for urgent government intervention and security presence in the area.
Amb. Anjorin used the platform to criticize what he called the “reactive” approach of local authorities. He said the Executive Chairman of Ekiti LGA only appears at attack scenes for documentation, but has not presented any visible plan to dismantle bandit camps or restore confidence in farming communities.
“Taking pictures at a scene where people have been killed does not bring them back. It does not stop the next attack,” Anjorin said. “What our people need is intelligence, patrols, and a government that treats rural lives as important as lives in the city.”
He urged the Kwara State Government and security agencies to engage Fulani and farmer community leaders directly, since they often have early warning information but lack channels to share it.
A recurring theme during the Backdrop Podcast was why these stories never reach mainstream media. Anjorin explained that many Fulani and rural farming settlements avoid media coverage out of fear, mistrust, or cultural practice. As a result, attacks that don’t happen near major roads or towns go unreported, while only high-profile incidents like church attacks get attention.
The chairman called on journalists and civil society to build trust with rural communities so that early warnings can be documented before they escalate. “If we had heard about the killings of the Fulani man’s wives and goddaughter earlier, maybe we could have prevented the church attack,” he suggested.
Both Anjorin and the Kebe of Woro ended their contributions with appeals. The Kebe asked government to prioritize the rescue of the 176 missing persons from Woro and to deploy security personnel to prevent further raids. Anjorin called for a security summit for Ekiti LGA that would bring together traditional rulers, Fulani leaders, farmers, youth groups, and government officials to design a local response.
Listeners of the podcast flooded the studio lines with condolences and demands for action. Many said they were hearing details of the Woro and Ikerin Opin attacks for the first time.
As the program ended, the message was stark: banditry in Ekiti LGA runs deeper than what makes headlines. For communities like Ikerin Opin and Woro, survival now depends on being heard. Whether government and security agencies will act on these “untold stories” remains the question residents are asking.
Long click on below to watch the full video;
https://youtu.be/fadZ-qhVpIc
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