Kwara State Government has dismissed claims circulating online that armed bandits were arrested by the Nigerian Army in Ifelodun Local Government Area, describing the reports as inaccurate and deliberately misleading.
The denial followed the circulation of a viral video showing some suspects who alleged that they received weapons and a vehicle from the state government.
The footage quickly gained traction on social media, prompting public concern over the claims.
Reacting on Sunday, the Commissioner for Communications, Bola Olukoju, said the allegations had no factual basis.
According to her, no security agency carried out any arrest of bandits in Ifelodun or anywhere else in Kwara State.
“Kwara has not recorded any arrest of armed bandits by the Army or any security formation as being claimed online,” Olukoju said. “What is being shared does not reflect events within our jurisdiction.”
Moreover, the commissioner explained that the government reviewed the video in question, where the suspects mentioned a vehicle allegedly linked to “Ilorin Government” and weapons said to have come from Abuja.
However, she clarified that the suspects were not apprehended in Kwara.
“From information available to us, those individuals were arrested in Auchi, Edo State, not in Kwara,” she said.
“No security report in the state supports the narrative being pushed on social media.”
She further stressed that no state government has the legal authority to distribute firearms such as AK-47 rifles to individuals.
Olukoju added that, contrary to online interpretations, the suspects never explicitly stated that the Kwara State Government supplied them with weapons.
Providing additional context, the state government disclosed that the vehicle mentioned in the video was a security van assigned to vigilantes operating in Ifelodun to support local security efforts.
According to the statement, those vigilantes have since exited the area, while the local government repeatedly raised concerns that the vehicle had not returned.
“That issue had already been documented before the emergence of this video,” Olukoju noted.
Meanwhile, investigations into the wider circumstances surrounding the suspects’ arrest are ongoing.
The government, however, urged the public to avoid spreading unverified information that could heighten tension.
Hence, the administration called for stronger intelligence sharing and closer collaboration among security agencies, stressing that coordinated efforts remain critical to tackling banditry and other violent crimes effectively.