Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has expressed outrage over viral footage showing the assault of women protesters near the Government House in Ilorin. The Governor, in a statement released on Monday, December 29, 2025, condemned the actions of the hoodlums, describing the attack as "unacceptable" and a violation of the citizens' democratic right to peaceful protest.

The protesters, primarily women and youths from communities in Ifelodun Local Government Area (including Oke-Ode, Agbeku, Babanla, and Adanla), had converged in the capital to demand urgent government intervention following a surge in kidnappings and banditry in their communities. Many of the women lamented that they had become widows or that their children were still being held in forest hideouts.

The Governor's directive to the police to "fish out" the attackers comes amid growing public outcry after the video showed men using canes to flog and disperse the grieving women. AbdulRazaq distanced his administration from the violence, stating that such actions do not represent the values of his government.

The women are within their rights to express their views. We therefore distance ourselves from the incident, as it does not represent our values as a government. We urge the police to locate the attackers and bring them to justice.

"The government, meanwhile, is clearly not standing aloof on security matters. Just on Saturday, December 27, the Governor personally led the passing out parade of armed forest guards whose mandate includes flushing out kidnappers and terrorists from our forests. This is in addition to heavy deployment of security forces, among other investments, to secure our communities."