Terrorist Attacks Force Kwara Farmers To Abandon Farmlands

Farmers in several parts of Kwara State are deserting their farmlands and fleeing their communities following repeated attacks by armed groups.

The worsening insecurity has left many residents dead, displaced families, and raised fears of food shortage as farming activities grind to a halt.

The attacks have been most severe in Edu, Patigi, Kaiama, and Ifelodun local government areas, where gunmen have launched raids on motorcycles, shooting at residents, looting shops, and abducting people for ransom. Communities in Edu, particularly those engaged in rice and sugarcane farming, have been hit hardest. Many farmers have fled their villages, leaving vast farmlands uncultivated.

In Patigi, fishing and rice farming communities such as Kpada, Lade, and Kusogi are turning into ghost towns as residents abandon their homes. Victims say the bandits deliberately target farming settlements, stealing food and kidnapping locals while demanding ransoms that most cannot afford.

Ifelodun Local Government is also facing relentless attacks, especially around Oke-Ode and Share. Armed groups have expanded their activities to highways, ambushing travellers and cutting off food supplies. Villagers fear transporting their produce, with many saying they risk being kidnapped on the way to markets.

Kwara, often regarded as one of Nigeria’s food baskets, is now facing a major threat to its agricultural output. The fertile lands where rice, yam, maize, sugarcane, and cassava are grown are being deserted as insecurity spreads. Farmers warn that if the situation continues, famine could follow.

In recent weeks, residents of Kwara South have also fled their ancestral homes, particularly in Ifelodun, where kidnappings are now a daily occurrence. Communities such as Sabe, Ologomo, Alabe, and Babanla have seen mass exodus, with families moving their belongings to safer areas. At Oke-Ode garage, displaced men, women, and children were seen desperately seeking transport to escape their villages.

Locals fear that continued desertion of ancestral homes could leave their lands abandoned or taken over by outsiders. They have called on the Kwara State Government to urgently intervene and restore security, warning that without action, both lives and livelihoods will be lost to the unending wave of terror.