A bloody wave of armed abductions across Kwara and Ekiti states has left communities reeling, after local hunters engaged suspected kidnappers in fierce gun battles, resulting in fatalities, daring escapes, and the tactical rescue of multiple victims.
The security breaches began in Rore, a community in Kwara State, on Thursday, July 23, 2026, when armed assailants abducted three individuals. The incident quickly escalated into a fatal confrontation when local hunters mobilized and pursued the kidnappers into the forest. During the resulting firefight, three hunters lost their lives while attempting to rescue the captives. Amid the chaos, one victim managed to escape from the kidnappers and made it back to safety. However, a father and his son’s wife remain in captivity as the perpetrators fled deeper into the bush.
Following the Rore attack, the armed network launched coordinated strikes across state borders. Six persons were abducted in Isan Ayede, Ekiti State, while an additional 13 individuals were seized in Ejiu, Ora, a community located within the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, directly adjacent to Ekiti State.
Determined to halt the spate of abductions, local vigilantes and hunters laid an ambush in the thick bush near Obbo-Ile Secondary School, where the criminal gang had reportedly passed with their captives. The hunters launched a fierce counter-attack against the kidnappers, killing several of the assailants during the heavy exchange of gunfire.
The ambush proved largely successful, as the hunters secured the release of all but one of the newly abducted victims, who were predominantly of Fulani background. One victim sustained gunshot wounds during the crossfire and is currently receiving medical attention. Following the fierce assault by the hunters, the remaining members of the criminal gang fled into the surrounding terrain, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.
The resurgence of violent abductions comes shortly after activist Sunday Igboho visited Kwara State, a visit that had briefly heightened public optimism that community-led security interventions would restore order across vulnerable border corridors.
Local security forces and community search teams remain on high alert, combing the dense forests spanning Kwara and Ekiti states to track down the fleeing suspects and secure the safe release of the remaining captives still held in the bush.
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