A peaceful demonstration by women demanding urgent government action against kidnappings and insecurity in their communities turned into chaos on Monday, December 29, 2025, when a group of suspected thugs attacked the protesters near the Kwara State Government House.
The women, many of them wives, mothers, and relatives of victims of recent kidnappings in Ifelodun Local Government Area had gathered peacefully outside the Government House on Ahmadu Bello Way, holding placards and pleading for rescue and intervention in their hometowns.
According to multiple videos circulating online, more than 30 men armed with horse whips, canes, rubber cords, and wires suddenly emerged from an unmarked vehicle and charged at the protesters. Screams, panic, and running followed as several women were beaten, forced to drop their placards, and scattered in different directions, with some even falling into roadside gutters.
One woman, visibly shaken and holding a torn placard, later described the attack:
“We came here to beg for help. We have lost husbands, brothers, and sons. We came peacefully, and they beat us like criminals.”
Another eyewitness added:
They didn’t give us a warning. One moment we were calling for justice. The next moment, they struck. Some ladies couldn’t run.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara condemned the violence as “brutal, inhumane, and utterly disgraceful,” stressing that the women came as a last resort after weeks of suffering due to rampant kidnappings and insecurity. The party said the protesters many from Oke Ode, Agbeku, Babanla, Adanla, and surrounding towns had exhausted all local efforts and sold personal property to cope with ransom demands and losses.
In a separate statement, Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq condemned the attacks, describing the assault on peaceful protesters as unacceptable and contrary to democratic values. He called on law enforcement to identify and arrest the attackers and bring them to justice. Governor Abdulrazaq reiterated that peaceful protest is a constitutional right and stressed that the state government is committed to improving security. He also highlighted recent efforts to strengthen local forest guard units to counter kidnappers and bandits.
