Nigeria: Kogi gov’t alleges youth, women in Okun land aiding bandits
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
The Kogi State government has raised alarm over reports that some youths and women in Okun land are collaborating with bandits, supplying them with food, weapons, and even forming intimate relationships with them.
According to the State Security Adviser, intelligence reports revealed that certain youths have been using motorcycles to deliver arms and food to criminal hideouts in the forest. He alleged that some women have been selling food items to the bandits while others act as informants, with a few even becoming companions to the criminals.
He warned that any youth or resident found assisting bandits would be treated as part of their network. The government, he added, has already marked several individuals suspected of working directly with the criminals.
The adviser lamented that fear of abduction has forced some locals to pay bandits for protection while farmers are abandoning their lands. He stressed that the government remains committed to flushing out the armed groups and restoring peace to Okun land.
He also urged the community to reject laziness, embrace agriculture, and channel youthful energy into productive ventures rather than enabling criminals. The government, he said, has invested in providing farm inputs and expects residents to use them to improve their standard of living instead of collaborating with those undermining security.
