Fear and grief have gripped Patigi in Kwara State after suspected Fulani bandits unleashed a brutal attack on Matogu village in Patigi Local Government Area, killing at least 10 residents, including a pregnant woman, and abducting seven others in the early hours of Wednesday.
Residents say the armed hoodlums arrived around 6:00 a.m. and operated for more than four hours, firing sporadically and leaving a trail of death and destruction.
Witnesses revealed that the attackers stormed the village on motorcycles, shooting anyone in sight. A pregnant woman was among those struck by bullets and died instantly.
Locals from nearby Macha village, who reportedly spotted the attackers on their way to Matogu, tried to raise an alarm but were hampered by poor network coverage, making it impossible to warn residents in time. “They came early in the morning, killed many, and went away with seven people, both young and old,” a heartbroken witness recounted. “The death of the pregnant woman is something I can never forget.”
The attack has prompted the Nupe Descendants Union (NDU) to issue an urgent Save Our Souls (SOS) call to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, appealing for immediate and decisive action to halt the wave of killings and kidnappings across Patigi and Edu local government areas.
Addressing journalists at the NUJ Center, Offa road in Ilorin, NDU chairman Alhaji Shuaibu Shaba Mohammed described the situation as “catastrophic,” lamenting that farming and commercial activities have been grounded to a halt as residents live in constant fear.
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He noted that the once-thriving International Gbugbu Market, a major trading hub, has been shut down due to relentless bandit attacks.
“Our people can no longer sleep with their eyes closed. Valuable lives are being wasted, farmlands abandoned, and businesses paralyzed. The trauma is unimaginable,” Mohammed said. He added that local vigilantes, despite suffering heavy casualties, have continued to assist federal security personnel in their efforts to secure the area.
While acknowledging the deployment of security forces to the region, the NDU stressed that more robust and sustainable measures are urgently needed. The group urged the government to:
Provide logistical and operational support for the army, police, local hunters, and vigilantes.
Strengthen intelligence gathering and surveillance to counter surprise attacks.
Offer relief and rehabilitation support to displaced victims and grieving families.
The union also highlighted the role of bad road networks in aiding the attackers’ escape. They appealed for the swift rehabilitation of the Patigi–Gbugbu–Lafiagi–Tsaragi–Bacita road, which they say has become a safe corridor for bandits who flee on motorcycles after each raid.
The Matogu killings add to a disturbing pattern of escalating violence in Kwara North, where farming communities are repeatedly targeted by armed gangs. Residents fear that without urgent government intervention, the attacks could force more villages to abandon their lands and livelihoods.
As security forces intensify search operations for the kidnapped victims, residents remain on edge, waiting for concrete action from the state and federal authorities to end the cycle of killings and restore peace to the troubled region.
