Kiama Massacre: The Killers Are Not Monsters

By Busy Brain

My heart is heavy, and my eyes are laden with tears. The recent gory scene in Kwara North cannot be narrated as a tale or folklore; it goes beyond that. What the eyes see, the mouth cannot tell. The carnage was alarming; from the footage and clips on the internet, the evil men had turned a community into debris.

The insecurity in Nigeria has become turn-by-turn. No state can be boastful of peace over another. Kwara State is not what it used to be, from the state of harmony to the state of agony. One of the most peaceful states is currently sharing its own national cake of security failure in waves and sad rhythms of pains and pangs.

From the far north to the north-central zone. The bandits are still on transits evading regions and wreaking havoc without retreat. The Kwara killings are no longer in scanty figures, not one, two, or five. It is in odd numbers, happening intermittently in the northern and southern parts of Kwara State.

For the Woro community, the exact figure of victims is still hazy, from seventy, over one hundred to over two hundred. To me, even if it is one, all lives matter. The solution is not in quoting figures of shame.

Out of the three senatorial districts in Kwara State, two are already danger zones. Traveling to Kwara North or some part of Kwara South is equivalent to journeying to a danger zone. Many citizens have deserted their home, not for greener pastures but for safety. How did we get here? No one knows, not even the government.

For the first time after COVID-19, the Kwara State Government in November 2025 ordered the immediate closure of schools in Ifelodun, Ekiti, Irepodun, Isin and Oke Ero local government areas for security reasons. The schools have just been reopened in the midst of pervasive threat.

Recently, the Osun State Government has raised alarm after the carnage scene in Kwara. Governor Adeleke knows his neighbor is sleepless, and he also needs not to sleep with two eyes closed.

No sane government will be happy with the level of incendiary, mass burial and gruesome killings. The state government’s forest guards deployed to different local governments are a good initiative and commendable. The aggressive approach of the bandits with sophisticated weapons is like an elephant skull, not something a child can toy with. Kwara State requires a heavy security presence beyond forest guards.

Lens Polytechnic Offa, one of the best private polytechnics in Nigeria, recently held an awareness campaign reinforcing security consciousness. The campaign messages resonate with our current experience. The security is everybody’s business. Government has major roles to play, and citizens have the role of raising alarm about strange movement or gathering.

Beyond press releases, condemnation, and condolence visits, the government needs to intensify efforts. The killers are not monsters; they can be hunted and tamed. Some easement we require. May departed souls find solace in the Lord!