Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has raised concerns over the escalating security crisis in Nigeria’s South-West, alleging that some terrorists and kidnappers have begun demanding unusual items such as drugs and virgins during ransom negotiations.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, condemned the increasing wave of kidnappings and violent attacks across several communities in the region, urging federal and state governments, as well as security agencies, to intensify efforts to tackle the growing threat.

Ajayi said residents across the South-West were becoming increasingly alarmed by the frequency of attacks, noting that armed groups had in recent months invaded communities, targeted travellers and farmers, and carried out assaults on homes and places of worship.

He cited incidents in states including Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Kwara, where gunmen reportedly attacked communities, killed residents and abducted victims for ransom.

According to him, the brutality of the attackers is reflected in the nature of their ransom demands.
Ajayi disclosed that in some cases kidnappers demanded ₦1.5 million, alongside items such as Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE, and cartons of canned beer before agreeing to release abducted victims.

He added that in another reported incident, abductors demanded virgins as part of the conditions for the release of four kidnapped men.

The Afenifere spokesperson lamented that homes, once regarded as safe havens, were no longer secure, recalling an incident in Akure, Ondo State, where a man was shot while attempting to stop gunmen from abducting his wife outside their residence.