‘Please Have Mercy On Us’ – Families Beg Kwara Governor, Emir To Rescue Children Abducted By Bandits

Families of residents abducted during a late-night raid by suspected bandits in Oke Oyi, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State have made an emotional appeal to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Emir of Ilorin and security agencies to urgently rescue their sons and daughters who remain in captivity.

The desperate appeal was contained in separate emotional testimonies by parents of the abducted victims in a video seen by SaharaReporters.

The victims recounted how heavily armed men invaded their homes at about 11:00 p.m., assaulted family members, carted away valuables and abducted several people after speaking mostly in Hausa and other languages.

One of the victims, a mother who was abducted alongside her children but later released because she could no longer walk after being severely beaten, narrated the traumatic experience in Yoruba.

According to her, the armed men stormed their residence around 11:00 p.m., surrounded the compound and forcefully broke into their home.

She said her eldest son managed to escape through the back of the house before the attackers entered, but he was caught and brutally beaten.

She said the gunmen proceeded into another room where her other children were and dragged three of them outside before taking them away.

Recounting the horrifying attack, she said: “At about 11:00 p.m., they surrounded our house. They broke into the house. My eldest son had already escaped through the back before they entered. They beat him severely.

“They entered the second room where there was fire. They brought out my children, three of them. They dragged us outside. They beat him, and they beat us. Some of them were taking us away while others were searching.

“They collected all the money we had. Nothing was left. We pleaded with them. They kept beating me. I fell down, and they forced me to stand up again, then beat me to the ground. When I managed to stand up again, I fell into the fire once more.

“They wanted to take me to a particular place and ordered me to sit down while others were coming behind them. They made me stand up again. They kept insulting us in Hausa, using abusive language. They continued speaking different things. They forced me up again, and I fell into the fire once more.

“One of them struck me from behind, causing me to fall backward.”

The visibly distressed woman said she was eventually abandoned by the abductors because she was unable to continue walking due to the severe injuries she sustained during the assault.

She broke down in tears as she appealed to the Kwara State Government to intervene and rescue her children.

“Please, I beg you in God’s name, have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. Please, for God’s sake…,” she said.

“Please, for God’s sake, have mercy on me. They are no longer with me. My children are dead. Have mercy on me. Please help me. I beg you in God’s name. Governor, please have mercy on me.

“Please, help so that justice can be done. What is happening now? I never expected this.

“Please, for God’s sake, have mercy on me. Have mercy on us. Please, for God’s sake, have mercy on us.”

In another emotional testimony contained in the video, an elderly man identified as the father of some of the abducted victims narrated how the armed men overpowered him, beat him mercilessly and tied his hands during the attack.

Addressing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Emir of Ilorin and the Chairman of Ilorin East Local Government, the elderly man pleaded for urgent intervention to save those still in captivity.

He said: “I greet the Emir of Ilorin. I also greet the Governor of the state. I greet the Chairman of our Local Government, Ilorin East.

“I want to tell everyone what happened to me. It happened at night. We were asleep. At about 11:00 p.m., it happened. We suddenly heard loud banging on the gate. They broke in. We had no opportunity to escape.

“My first child opened the door. They entered the room. They also opened his mother’s room. Everything in the house was looted.”

The elderly man said the attackers came in large numbers and surrounded the entire compound before forcing the family members out.

According to him, the kidnappers spoke several languages during the operation.

“They stormed into our house in large numbers. They surrounded the house and forced us out. We remained inside the house in fear,” he said.

“From the languages I heard them speaking, they did not speak only one language. I heard English, Hausa, and other languages.

“I heard the languages they spoke, but I could not identify all of them. I saw white (light-skinned) men among them. I personally saw the white men called Bororo.”

He further stated that the armed men physically assaulted him, shot at him and sprayed an unknown substance into his eyes, leaving him temporarily unable to see.

“They beat me. As they beat me, they also shot at me. They sprayed something into my eyes, and I could no longer see clearly. They injured my eyes,” he said.

“My children behaved well, but they were not allowed to come out. They could not even cry out.”

According to him, after the attackers fled, neighbours later arrived at the house and discovered that several people had been taken away.

He identified some of the abducted victims as Aminatu Abdulsalam Salihu, Jamiu Salihu and three other victims whose identities were not immediately disclosed.

The elderly man pleaded with the authorities to act swiftly.

“Please, have mercy on us.”

The emotional appeals come amid growing concerns over the worsening security situation in parts of Kwara State, particularly in rural communities where residents have repeatedly raised the alarm over recurring attacks, kidnappings and other violent crimes.

The families urged Governor AbdulRazaq, the Emir of Ilorin, security agencies and all relevant authorities to intensify efforts to secure the safe rescue of the abducted victims and ensure those responsible for the attack are apprehended and brought to justice.(SaharaReporters)