Group Urges Proactive Security in Kwara

Light Nwobodo

The Companion, an association of Muslim men in business and the professions, has called for proactive security in Kwara State following recent killings of over 70 people in Muslim community of Woro in the state.

A statement signed by the group’s National President, Imam Nojeem Jimoh, said it viewed these escalating attacks not as isolated incidents, but as a suspected grand design to systematically undermine and target Muslim populations in the state.

“We actually fear a sinister strategy is at play probably calculated to weaken the centre by rendering peripheral communities utterly vulnerable through cumulative violence.

“The Companion finds it unacceptable that serial assaults have deliberately targeted Muslim-dominated areas, including Oke Ode and others. The Kwara State Government must recognise that the current trajectory is rapidly eroding the confidence of Muslim citizens in the state’s ability to protect them.

“This erosion of trust carries serious degenerative implications that the government may ultimately find embarrassing if left unaddressed,” the statement warned.

It called for immediate action and not committees, stating that to restore security and public faith, the Kwara State Government must move beyond “the traditional, time-wasting practice of setting up reactionary committees.”

“Instead, the organisation demands the following:

utilisation of existing data. Immediately harvest and implement findings from pre-existing studies regarding the socio-economic conditions of Woro and adjoining communities.

“Proactive security architecture. Move from a reactive posture to a proactive system that anticipates and neutralises threats before they manifest.

“Genuine political accountability. The political class, which often exploits local information for campaign purposes, must now demonstrate genuine knowledge of these areas by volunteering meaningful, tangible support for Woro and other devastated communities.

“The Companion stands in solidarity with the victims and insists that, in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Amended, the protection of lives and property must be treated with the urgency and sincerity this tragedy demands,” it noted.