Kwara Emir’s Palace, NDLEA Office Set Ablaze During Protest Over Insecurity [Photos]

Residents of Lafiagi in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State staged a protest on Monday over the growing insecurity in their area.

Frustrated by frequent kidnappings and killings, mostly young people from the community took to the streets, accusing the government of doing little to protect them.

They carried placards and chanted protest songs, calling for urgent action to stop the violence and abductions that have disrupted daily life.

The protest turned violent as the crowd set fire to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) office in Lafiagi and damaged the Emir’s palace, smashing windows and destroying parts of the building.

In a video that surfaced online, a resident expressed the community’s frustration, saying, “We have been crying and dying in silence. People are being kidnapped every week. We don’t sleep with both eyes closed anymore, and nobody, neither the governor, the chairman, nor even the Emir, is doing anything about it.”

Sources said the protest was sparked by anger that had built up over time due to ongoing attacks and the lack of a serious response from authorities.

‎“The youth are exhausted, and there has been no concrete action from the government. The frequency of attacks has increased, which is why the protest erupted today,” one local source explained.

Lafiagi and nearby areas have seen a spike in abductions in recent weeks, with some victims still in captivity. Many families have had to pay large sums in ransom to free their loved ones.

See the photos below:

This comes a few days after suspected kidnappers killed Alhaji Abdullahi Kpotun, a ward chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara North, along with his son.