SUNTV Global Channel — March 7, 2026
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has sounded a fresh warning over the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria’s South-West, revealing that some kidnappers and terrorists are now making shocking demands during ransom negotiations — including virgins and hard drugs.
In a statement released on Saturday, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, condemned the growing wave of attacks and kidnappings across the region and urged authorities to take urgent action to stop the escalating violence.
Ajayi said residents across several South-West states are living in fear as criminals continue to attack communities, ambush travellers, and abduct farmers and residents for ransom.
According to him, the brutality of the attackers has become evident in the unusual and disturbing items they demand before releasing victims.
“In some reported cases, kidnappers demanded about ₦1.5 million, Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE, and cartons of canned beer as part of ransom conditions,” Ajayi revealed.
He further disclosed that in another incident, abductors demanded that virgins be handed over in exchange for the release of four men they had kidnapped.
The group also lamented that homes, once considered safe places, are no longer secure.
Ajayi cited a troubling case in Akure where a man was reportedly shot while trying to stop gunmen from abducting his wife in front of their residence.
Similar attacks, he said, have been reported in parts of Ondo State, Oyo State, Ekiti State and Kwara State, where communities have faced repeated invasions by armed groups.
Ajayi also referenced cases where entire families were abducted from their homes in Ekiti State, as well as incidents in Kubwa where armed men reportedly moved from house to house robbing and kidnapping residents.
Beyond the South-West, the Afenifere spokesman warned that insecurity remains widespread across the country, citing incidents in Plateau State, Benue State, Borno State, Kebbi State, Nasarawa State, Niger State, Katsina State and Kaduna State.
Despite the grim situation, Afenifere insisted that the threat posed by bandits and terrorists can still be defeated.
The group urged the government and security agencies to intensify efforts to identify and arrest the sponsors and financiers behind banditry, block their supply of weapons, and dismantle their operational hideouts.
Afenifere also renewed its call for the creation of state police and urged South-West governors to strengthen surveillance in forests and rural communities where many of the criminals are believed to operate.
The organisation further stressed the need for stronger collaboration between federal and state authorities to effectively combat the growing menace of terrorism and kidnapping across Nigeria.
— SUNTV Global Channel Reporting
