Residents of Lata Nna community in Patigi local government area of Kwara State have submitted a Save Our Soul (SOS) letter to President Bola Tinubu over continuous occurrences of banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminality in the area in the last two years.
According to the report, the people appealed on the involvement of the president in a letter sent by the secretary of the Lata-Nna Youth Association, Tauheed Desco, on behalf of the community, Channels TV reported.
“Your Excellency, we can no longer go to our farms, we can no longer go to the market, we can no longer sleep with our eyes closed. Our only road is a deathtrap. “Our community is bleeding,” the letter said in part.
They called to the president to order the urgent deployment of security personnel to Lata Nna to secure the village and unblock the only road.
The community also called on the president to authorise a continuous security operation to clear out bandits from their hideouts around the neighbourhood.
They also appealed for help and justice for the families of the victims, notably Alhassan Ndaba and the two residents who lost their lives on 26 June 2026.
“We voted for hope and security, Mr President,” declared the community.
“Please don’t let Lata Nna be erased from the map. Please hear our scream and come to save us.”
“We have been suffering silent, continuous attacks from these bandits. For the last two years, there have been violent attacks,” the villagers stated.
We have been victims of kidnappings, extortion, agricultural invasions and armed robberies in silence. However, it is the following occurrences that have catapulted our struggle into the mainstream because of their scale, daring and severity.
“Last year in August 2025, 65 hunters were killed in the community bush during the clash between the hunters and the bandits due to the inferior weapons used by our hunters while the bandits were using highly sophisticated ones, the likes of AK-47 and above. There were just 40 deceased bodies to be buried and registered.
“Mr Allassan Ndaba was ambushed and brutally murdered by bandits on his way to his farm on the 15th of April 2026. A hard-working farmer was slaughtered feeding his family.
“Bandits attacked Lata Nna in the middle of the day on July 10, 2026, going from house to house. They broke into houses, looted food goods, money, mobile phones. They looted shops and hauled away stuff. “Also on same day they stole four motorcycles worth N1.6 million naira crippling the mobility and business of our youths.
June 13, 2026: In a horrifying show of lawlessness, four armed bandits on two motorcycles raided Lata Nna in broad daylight. They went around the community in quest of recharge cards, petrol and other supplies. Their audacity and free movement threw the whole neighbourhood into a panic.
June 26, 2026. This was our saddest day. Bandits stormed in and blocked the only road in and out of Lata Nna. That solitary road is our only link to the hospital, to the market, to help. By enclosing our neighbourhood the terrorists had created a captive zone. “Two of our residents were on their way home that day and were shot dead at the blockade.
On 27 June 2026, villagers going to collect leaves behind the village were held up at gunpoint and looted. They took their phones and money.
“A POS operator who went to the bank to collect cash for business was robbed at gun point on July 15, 2026 and all his money was taken from him.
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