President Bola Tinubu has ordered a total security cordon on Kwara State forests following a fresh attack that saw about 11 residents, including women and children, abducted in Isapa, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state.
The presidential directive comes after about 20 armed bandits attacked the Isapa community in Ekiti LGA around 6:00 p.m. on Monday, November 24, 2025.
According to reports, the attackers came into the community alongside their herd, opened fire, and carried away several residents, including seven members of a single family.
Among the victims are Fatima Yusuf, a pregnant woman, and two nursing mothers.
The other abducted residents have been identified as Talatu Kabiru, twenty years old; Magaji, six years old; Kande, five years old; Hadiza, ten years old; Mariam, six years old; Saima, five years old; Habibat; Sarah Sunday, twenty-two years old; Lami Fidelis, twenty-three years old and a nursing mother; and Haja Na Allah, also a nursing mother.
A community leader, who confirmed the attack but requested anonymity, said seven of the victims were taken from a single household.
“This is the worst attack we have seen in recent times, Seven members of the same family were taken. People are terrified. We don’t even know what to expect next.
“People are now living in fear. This is too much. Eleven people just disappeared into the bush. We don’t know what tomorrow holds,” he said.
The incident comes just a week after gunmen attacked a branch of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) at Oke Isegun in the Eruku community, another town in Ekiti LGA bordering Kogi state.
Thirty-eight worshippers were abducted in that attack but have since been rescued.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State announced the release of all 38 worshippers abducted from the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke-Isegun, Eruku, in Ekiti Local Government Area, on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that both the Isapa and Eruku communities are about 20 kilometres apart.
Reacting to the latest attack, Tinubu said he ordered the total security cordon on the Kwara forests to secure the state.
This was announced in a press statement issued by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare.
According to the statement, the total security cordon on the Kwara forests includes a significant expansion of the Nigerian Air Force’s air surveillance to cover the deepest parts of the forests believed to be serving as hideouts for the criminal elements.
Dare added that the “order equally applies to the Kebbi and Niger States axis where many are expected to be rescued.”
The statement reads: President Tinubu has ordered a total security cordon over the forests in Kwara state following recent kidnappings and terrorist activities.
“President Tinubu directed the air force to expand its air surveillance across the innermost parts of the forests in Kwara state, where it is believed the terrorists are hiding. They are to maintain a 24-hour surveillance and link up with the booths on the ground. This order equally applies to the Kebbi and Niger States axis where many are expected to be rescued.
“Communities are also urged to provide timely information about strange movements and activities to aid the work of the security forces.”
