Gunshots As Bandits Ambush Passengers Bus On Ilorin–Egbe Road In Kwara State

Bandits have once again struck along the Ilorin–Egbe highway, attacking a commercial bus travelling between Eruku and Egbe, a border area between Kwara and Kogi states.

A source who spoke to SaharaReporters said the incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when the bus was ambushed by heavily armed assailants who suddenly emerged from the bush and opened fire on the vehicle.

According to the source, the attackers appeared in large numbers and began shooting directly at him.

In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, bullet holes were visible across the bus, with bloodstains on the driver’s side, indicating that he had been hit by a bullet during the assault.

It was gathered that the injured driver hails from Isanlu, while among the passengers were a man from Egbe and another yet-to-be-identified Hausa trader.

Residents of the area have called on the Chairman of Yagba East Local Government Area to urgently collaborate with his counterpart in Yagba West to take decisive action against the rising wave of banditry along the Kwara–Kogi border.

The highway, a major route connecting communities in both states, has witnessed repeated attacks in recent months, leaving travellers in constant fear.

SaharaReporters previously reported that residents of Egbe community in the Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State accused the Special Adviser on security to the council, Mr. Sunday Adeyeye, and Commander, Wole Ajulo, of the Kogi State Vigilante Sector D of sabotaging ongoing security efforts.

The duo are accused of ordering the release of suspects caught smuggling fuel and hard drugs through bush paths believed to be used by bandits.

Multiple sources who spoke with SaharaReporters last week Saturday said the suspects were apprehended by local vigilante operatives along the Okoa-Egbe axis while attempting to transport jerrycans of petrol, tramadol, and hemp toward a remote airfield reportedly used as a base by armed groups.

According to source, the suspects’ arrest followed a standing order by the Yagba West Local Government Chairman, Hon. Tosin Olokun, who had earlier, in a directive dated October 1, 2025, banned the sale of petrol in jerrycans across the area to curb the growing practice of fueling bandit activities in the surrounding forests.

Despite the order, some individuals continued to supply petrol and other items to the criminal gangs. Local vigilantes, acting on intelligence, intercepted two young men with petrol, food items, and drugs in the bush path.

However, to the dismay of residents, the suspects were later released under questionable circumstances allegedly on the instruction of Mr. Adeyeye.
Community leaders described the release as a setback to local security efforts, noting that the area has witnessed rising threats from criminal elements operating between Kogi and Kwara States.

“The people are angry because those fueling bandits are being protected by some powerful figures. We risk our lives to catch them, but they are released before any proper investigation.”

Further reports revealed that another set of suspects, including two Hausa men and one identified as Jeremiah Dada — the son of Oba Rotimi Dada, the Emla of Ilemla in Egbe — were also arrested with hard drugs.

The suspects were handed over to Sector D Command of the local vigilante group in Egbe. While the two Hausa men were allegedly released without charge, Jeremiah and two others were arraigned before a court and later remanded in the Kabba Correctional Centre. (SaharaReporters)