Kwara Govt To Peter Obi: No Local Government Area Has Been Taken Over By Bandits

There are sixteen local government areas in Kwara State, and the administration has refuted reports that bandits had taken over nine of them.

In a statement on Monday, Bolanle Olukoju, the Kwara State Commissioner for Communications, clarified the situation, pointing out that the accusations of bandit takeover are unfounded and careless.

“No local government area in the state is controlled by terrorists or bandits,” she continued, adding that opposition elements are promoting false reports about the security situation in Kwara.

The denial reportedly comes days after Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the 2023 Labour Party, bemoaned the growing influx of insecurity in Nigeria in a statement posted on his 𝕏 account. Obi specifically claimed that bandits had taken over nine of Kwara State’s sixteen local government areas.

The Commissioner reacted to Obi’s statement by accusing the former governor of Anambra State of spreading false information on social media and asking him to take down the post because it is completely untrue.

“We want to warn the public about some rash claims that the bandits are besieging nine local government areas in Kwara State,” the statement says. That is just untrue. There are no sieges in the state’s local government areas.

“The wicked escalation and fake news being promoted by opposition elements in and outside the state are not justified by the unfortunate challenges we have faced in a few areas.

We have good evidence to believe that these individuals are bandit equivalency and online promoters, since they spread false information to incite terror among the public, such the erroneous report that nine LGAs are under siege and that there are gunmen moving through Asa LGA.

“We regret to inform you that Mr. Peter Obi has licensed his social media accounts to disseminate such false information. As a statesman, we don’t expect him to do this. Since the post is completely inappropriate and untrue, we kindly ask Mr. Peter Obi to remove it.

The public is also urged to refrain from disseminating unconfirmed information, as this could lead to psychological stress, uncertainty, and panicked reactions.

Because the security forces already have enough on their plates, this careless behavior is making things more difficult for them.