How bandits ambushed Kwara private security operatives

The Chairman of a private security organisation in Kwara State, Iru Ekun Security Network, Isiak Olayiwola, has narrated how six members of the organisation were ambushed and brutalised by suspected bandits in the Bani community, Kaiama Local Government Area of the state.

Olayiwola said the victims were returning from a meeting in Kaiama town when armed men riding between 30 and 40 motorcycles suddenly emerged and attacked them shortly before they entered Bani.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH in Ilorin, Olayiwola described the incident as heartbreaking, saying the men were not on a mission to confront anybody but were carrying two firearms for protection because of the security situation in the area.

“The incident was what I will describe as extremely heartbreaking because those men in the video are our boys. They were returning from a meeting in Kaiama town to Bani when they were ambushed on their way back,” Olayiwola said.

He added that they were just six in number and did not carry more than two firearms because they were not going to a war.

“They only carried those two guns with them just for the sake of the current security situation in the area,” he said.

The attackers were armed with AK-47 rifles and opened fire on the Iru Ekun personnel.

“They were about to enter Bani village when armed men riding motorcycles, numbering between 30 and 40, abruptly showed up with AK-47 rifles and others and started shooting at them. Thank God for fortification,” Olayiwola said.

A video of the incident, which had earlier surfaced on October 26 and was sighted by Sunday PUNCH, showed the men sitting with their hands tied behind their backs while armed individuals interrogated them about their association with the Iru Ekun Security Network.

In the footage, one of the armed men repeatedly accused the captives of disregarding previous warnings against associating with or receiving members of the organisation in Bani.

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“Didn’t we tell you that we don’t want Iru Ekun in Bani?” one of the captors asked Jelili Alagbere, who was wearing an Iru Ekun-branded shirt.

Jelili responded that he was unaware of the reported warning.

Another captive, Yusuf Alagbere, identified himself as a hunter and said he had been invited by some individuals known as the Elere boys.

The captors also questioned another man identified as Rafiu about his identity and association with the group, while an elderly captive denied being an Iru Ekun member.

“Did you see me with them before? I’m not a member of Iru Ekun,” the elderly man said.

Towards the end of the video, the armed men asked the captives whether they would continue participating in the organisation’s activities, to which they were heard responding in the negative.

Olayiwola identified one of the alleged attackers as Sardauna, accusing him of recording the interrogation and participating in the shooting.

“One man among the bandits recording the video was later identified as Sardauna. In fact, he was the one holding the phone and conducting the interrogation. The way the video got into our hands is what he didn’t know,” he said.

“He was also actively opening fire at our men. They could have died in the process if not for the grace of God. The people recording the video are bandits.”

The chairman, however, said none of the six members was killed, appreciating the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, for his efforts in securing their rescue.