Farms abandoned, schools closed, homes looted. For months, residents of Owa-Onire have fled repeated attacks as security forces fail to respond, writes ABDULLAHI OLESIN
At noon, Owa-Onire is silent. The market that once thronged with traders from Asa, Ilorin and neighbouring villages now holds only broken stalls and weeds. Doors hang loose on abandoned homes. A chalkboard in the only public primary school still reads “Week 6: Mathematics,” frozen since the last pupils fled.
For years, bandits have turned this farming community into a target. Attacks come at night — gunfire, torched motorcycles, kidnapped farmers. With each raid, more families load their belongings onto trucks and leave. Those who remain move in groups and return to their farms only in daylight, if at all.
Today, Owa-Onire exists mostly in memory. Farms that fed Kwara lie fallow. Churches and mosques hold services with a handful of worshippers. Youths who grew up here now sleep in IDP camps in Afon and Ilorin, or hawk goods in city markets.
The people call it exile, not migration. Bandits did not just steal cattle and cash. They chased away a community. And with no sustained security response, Owa-Onire keeps emptying, one family at a time.
The home of an international tourist site, Owu Waterfall, in the Owa-Onire community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, has become a ghost town following incessant bandit attacks on residents.
As of this report, the once-bubbling agrarian community has been deserted by its residents, including the town’s traditional ruler.
However, a prince of Owa-Onire, popularly known as Lekan, decided to stay back and live all alone in the troubled community.
This came to public attention on Wednesday, 9 June 2026, when security operatives from the Drone Unit, MOPOL, and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad stormed Owa-Onire as part of efforts to screen the Kwara south forest belts.
According to a viral social media post, the team of about 100 troops was visibly surprised to find the community empty, with no sign of life.
“The operation is in line with efforts by the Inspector General of Police to secure Kwara South through systematic screening of the forest belts, with ground troops following up with positive action. Divided into groups, the teams are working across various locations and forests in Kwara South, especially Ifelodun, Isin, Oke-Ero, and Ekiti LGAs.
“As operatives moved through Owa Onire town with a drone overhead, a man surfaced and described himself as “the landlord.” And he was. A prince of the town, Lekan, now has the deserted houses — including a big mansion, the mosque, and the church — to himself.
“Asked why he remained, Lekan replied simply: ‘Bororo’s War’ drove his people away. But the war didn’t start with a single raid. Owa-Onire has faced persistent bandit attacks and multiple kidnappings. The turning point came when the monarch himself was abducted and held in the forests for months until a heavy ransom was paid. After that, the attacks never really stopped.”
“Owa-Onire’s collapse mirrors what’s happening across Kwara South. At least 28 communities in Ifelodun LGA have been deserted, and the wave has spread into Isin LGA, sweeping up Oro-Ago, Omugo, Ahun, Oke-Oyan, Owa-Kajola, Owa-Onire, and Oba. Residents say suspected bandits have overrun more than 23 villages, chasing families from ancestral homes and leaving ghost towns in their wake.
“On survival, Lekan said he had no problem feeding himself from his farm, noting that nothing could be bought within the community or nearby.’’
The team leader gave Lekan N10,000 as a gift, which he gladly accepted. Lekan said he would use it to improve his upkeep by travelling to Okeonigbin to buy foodstuffs.
“He also told the team that a group of people had invaded the community the previous day, but he could not say what their mission was or what was missing.”
“Assessing the situation, the team comprising senior officers from Abuja and Lagos assured that, based on what they saw, they would recommend adequate security measures to enable the residents of deserted communities, including Owa-Onire, to return home as soon as possible. They described the situation as unacceptable and requiring urgent solutions,” the statement said.
The chairman of Owa Onire Community Development Association, Mr James Awoyemi, confirmed the community’s desertion by its people.
He, however, expressed the people’s readiness to return home if water-tight security arrangements are put in place to guarantee the safety of lives and property.
