Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, on Monday pushed back against calls by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency over allegations linking the state government to banditry.

The PDP made the call during a press conference at its secretariat in Ilorin, addressed by its State Secretary, Abdulrahman Kayode.

The PDP described the claims as "grave and disturbing," citing a viral video of suspected bandits arrested by the Nigerian Army in Auchi, Edo State. In the video, the suspects allegedly claimed that officials of the Kwara State Government supplied them with AK-47 rifles and a government-branded patrol vehicle.

However, Governor AbdulRazaq's Senior Special Assistant on Communications, Ibraheem Abdullateef, described the call for emergency rule as baseless and dead on arrival, accusing the opposition of politicising security issues.

The PDP insisted that President Tinubu must treat the situation as a matter of urgent national concern, warning that the allegations, if left unaddressed, could erode public trust and worsen insecurity in the state.

"We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to immediately intervene and treat the situation in Kwara State as a matter of urgent national importance," Kayode said. "In the interest of justice, public safety and national security, it is reasonable to demand the declaration of a state of emergency in Kwara State to allow for a thorough, transparent and unhindered investigation into these allegations."

Kayode stressed that the video raised serious questions that Governor AbdulRazaq, as the Chief Security Officer of the state, must answer.

"This is a direct allegation of state-sponsored criminality that must not be swept under the carpet. In the video, the suspects did not say they stole the weapons or bought them from the black market. They repeatedly stated that the arms and the patrol vehicle were supplied by officials of the Ilorin Government," he said.

The PDP highlighted a recent surge in violent attacks across several local government areas, including Ifelodun, Patigi, Edu, Ekiti, Isin, and Irepodun.

Kayode recalled the September 28 attack on Oke-Ode community, where more than 15 people were reportedly killed.

He claimed that a government agent, allegedly a military officer, had visited the community the day before to disarm local hunters and vigilantes for supposed maintenance of their weapons—hours later, the bandits struck.

He noted that the name "Oga Victor," mentioned by one of the suspects in the Edo State video, was also linked to that incident, calling the coincidence "too grave to be ignored."

The PDP demanded answers from Governor Abdulrazaq, asking: "Who is 'Oga Victor'? What official role does he play for the Kwara State Government? Why were AK-47 rifles allegedly released to non-state actors? How did a government-customised patrol vehicle assigned to Ifelodun Local Government end up in the hands of bandits in Edo State?"

Kayode also urged the Office of the National Security Adviser and other federal security agencies to launch an independent investigation into the allegations.

He further called on state security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, to retrieve all patrol vehicles allocated to local governments for a full audit.

"This process must be transparent, with full public disclosure, to restore public confidence in the security architecture of the state," he said.

He challenged the media to intensify investigative reporting, insisting that the people of Kwara deserved the truth.

"The families and communities devastated by repeated attacks are counting on the media to ask hard questions and uncover the facts," he said.

However, Governor Abdulrazaq's Senior Special Assistant on Communications, Ibraheem Abdullateef, accused the PDP of politicising security issues to advance a "dead-on-arrival" bid for the 2027 gubernatorial election.

He said: "This desperation is nauseating and stands condemned by the people of Kwara State. The Kwara people understand that the call for a state of emergency is baseless and lacks sincerity. Having suffered acute political atrophy, the party has long resorted to incitement and fake news to cause unrest in the state. This is the latest of their ploys to assail democracy and subvert the will and mandate of the people in Kwara."

Abdullateef added that President Tinubu would not act on the PDP's demand, saying he has more pressing governance issues. "President Tinubu knows that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is an honest leader, a trustworthy ally and a patriot. This is why he was backed to emerge as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors' Forum and enjoys strong support from his colleagues. The PDP's call is dead on arrival," he declared.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Kwara State Government dismissed similar claims circulating on social media. In a statement issued on Sunday night by the Commissioner for Communications, Mrs. Bolanle Olukoju, the state said no security agency, including the Nigerian Army, arrested armed bandits in Ifelodun or any other part of Kwara.

"The Nigerian Army did not arrest any armed bandits in any part of Ifelodun. No security agency ever reported such arrests in Kwara," Olukoju said. She also debunked claims that the state government supplied weapons, stressing that no state government has the authority to issue AK-47 rifles. "At no point did the individuals in the video state that the Kwara State Government gave them any weapon," she added.