30 Kwara Kings Flee Palaces Over Kidnap Terror
About 30 traditional rulers across the southern area of Kwara State are reported to have fled their palaces following a sustained wave of kidnappings, killings and violent attacks.
The affected monarchs from Omugo, Afin, Oreke, Oreke Oke-Igbo, Olohuntele, Alabe, Ganmu Ailehri, Ologanmo, and Igbo Agbon communities are seeking refuge in urban centres, including Ilorin, Osogbo, Offa, and Lagos.
Their displacement, triggered by repeated attacks by armed groups, has created a leadership vacuum in their communities as only a few of them come occasionally for meetings or special occasions and leave immediately
The situation escalated after an attack on a marble mining site near Oreke-Okeigbo on June 4, 2025, where two police officers, Assistant Superintendent Haruna Watsai and Inspector Tukur Ogah, were killed, marking the beginning of mass displacement.
When the traditional rulers are on the run, farmlands have been abandoned, schools shut down, and markets rendered inactive as other residents move where they believe to be safer locations.
The latest gunmen attack occurred in Olayinka community in Ifelodun council area, where armed men stormed the palace of the monarch, Oba Salman Aweda, in the early hours of Saturday and abducted him alongside his wife and another resident.
