Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The traditional ruler of Owa-Onire Community in Kwara State, Oba AbdulRahman Fabiyi, has abandoned his palace and relocated to the outskirts of Ilorin, the state capital, following a series of brazen attacks by armed bandits that have turned his domain into a theatre of terror.
The monarch, who has ruled his people for decades, disclosed in an emotional interview that the straw that broke the camel's back was a violent raid on his palace on the night of December 31, 2025, when eight heavily armed terrorists stormed his residence, broke down the gates and doors, stole his phone and his wife's phone, and carted away money at gunpoint. Speaking from his temporary residence on the outskirts of Ilorin on Saturday, Oba Fabiyi declared that he would not return to his palace unless the federal and state governments provide adequate security for his community. “I am not going back to that palace until I see a police station and a permanent security presence,” he said.
According to the monarch, the attackers arrived at his palace around midnight on New Year's Eve, heavily armed with rifles and machetes. “They broke the gates and doors of my palace. Eight terrorists came in. They collected my phone and that of my Olori and some money I had with me at gunpoint. But they didn't order me to follow them.
Though they later went away with two of my palace aides,” Fabiyi recounted. He expressed a grim suspicion that the bandits spared him because they had previously kidnapped him and knew his community was already impoverished by ransom payments. The king disclosed that he had been abducted earlier and held for seven days before being released after his subjects paid a ransom of N5 million. “I guess that was why they didn't ask me to follow them at gunpoint on December 31, 2025,” he said. “They knew that I had already paid.”
The attack on the palace was not an isolated incident. According to community sources, Owa-Onire and nearby villages in the Asa Local Government Area have been under relentless siege by bandits who operate from forest hideouts that straddle the border between Kwara and Niger states. Residents have endured kidnappings for ransom, cattle rustling, and armed robberies for months, forcing many families to flee their ancestral homes. The situation has become so dire that the community has no functioning police post, and the nearest security outpost is several kilometres away, rendering response times dangerously slow. Oba Fabiyi lamented that despite repeated appeals to the Kwara State Government and the police, no meaningful action has been taken. “We have no police station. The few police officers that come are not enough. Even they are scared to stay at night,” he said.
The traditional ruler's decision to leave his palace has sent shockwaves through the traditional institution in Kwara State. For a monarch to abandon his throne – even temporarily – is almost unheard of in Yoruba culture, where the palace is considered sacred and the king the father of all. “I am still performing my traditional duties remotely,” Fabiyi said. “I receive chiefs, I give counsel, but I do it from here. I cannot put my life and the lives of my people at risk any longer.” He appealed to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and President Bola Tinubu to intervene urgently. “We are Nigerians. We pay taxes. We deserve to live without fear,” he added.
The Kwara State Police Command, when contacted, confirmed that security had been beefed up in the general area but declined to comment on the specific incident.
The state government has not yet issued an official statement on the monarch's self-exile. However, sources within the government told local reporters that the governor was aware of the situation and had directed the Commissioner of Police to deploy additional personnel to the Asa axis. The community, however, remains skeptical, noting that similar promises have been made in the past without any tangible improvement.
The plight of Oba Fabiyi highlights a broader security crisis that has engulfed parts of Kwara State, particularly the northern and western local government areas that share borders with bandit-infested zones in Niger, Zamfara, and Kaduna states. The federal government's Operation FANSAN YAMMA, which was launched to combat banditry in the North-West, has yet to produce visible results in Kwara, and local vigilantes who have attempted to defend their communities are often outgunned and outnumbered. The monarch's exile is a stark reminder that insecurity has no respect for culture, tradition, or class. If a king can no longer sleep in his palace, the ordinary citizen has little reason to hope.
As the sun set on Owa-Onire, the palace gates that were once symbols of authority and protection stood broken and unguarded.
The compound that once bustled with courtiers and petitioners fell silent, save for the occasional bark of a stray dog. In his new residence on the outskirts of Ilorin, Oba AbdulRahman Fabiyi waited for a phone call that would tell him it was safe to return. But the phone did not ring. And the bandits, somewhere in the forest, continued to sharpen their machetes.
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