Residents Blocked Dangote Trucks Over Alleged Ties to Banditry
Tensions are running high in Kwara South as outraged residents of Igbaja, a town in Ifelodun Local Government Area, launched a large-scale protest, blocking Dangote trucks from passing through their community.
The demonstration follows serious accusations that some drivers working for the Dangote Group may be involved in facilitating bandit activities in the region.
In a video obtained by AfrikaEyes, one protester claimed that certain Dangote drivers are allegedly aiding criminal groups by transporting ammunition and even handling ransom payments on behalf of kidnappers.
According to him, “These drivers are not just passing through; they are actively supporting the logistics of terror. Some are accused of delivering weapons and depositing ransom payments into accounts controlled by bandits.”
For weeks, communities across Ifelodun and greater Kwara South have come under siege by armed groups. Villages such as Babanla, Sabe, Ologomo, Alabe, and Oreke have seen mass evacuations, with many homes now abandoned. Fear-stricken families have fled, turning once-thriving rural areas into ghost towns.
Despite the growing insecurity, residents note that Dangote trucks continue to drive through these vulnerable areas daily—routes now deemed too dangerous for ordinary citizens to walk.
Protest leaders argue that while local farmers and traders are routinely kidnapped and extorted, Dangote drivers appear to move freely and are seemingly untouchable by the same groups causing widespread terror.
“They don’t touch the trucks. The bandits go after our people—the poor, those trying to survive. Yet these same trucks roll through unchallenged,” one protester said.
The protest, which drew hundreds of local youths and community members, has gained official support. Honourable Femi Yusuf, Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government, reportedly backed the road blockade and pledged to escalate the residents’ demands to higher authorities. Traditional and community leaders have also endorsed the action.
Igbaja residents are now calling on state and federal governments to act decisively, warning that the crisis in Kwara South has reached a breaking point.
“Kwara South is bleeding,” one protester declared. “We can’t sleep. Our people are dying. We’ve reached out to other communities—we’re uniting. Babanla and nearby villages have been completely abandoned for three days. Yet the trucks keep passing. In Oreke, there’s no one left. But we still see Dangote trucks daily.”
He further alleged, “These same truck drivers are the ones collecting ransoms and delivering them for the bandits. They are also suspected of supplying them with arms.”
The decision to block the trucks, he said, was not out of hostility but desperation. “We’re not fighting them. We’re telling them to turn around. We lack the power to resist them forcefully, but we are crying out for help.”
Efforts to reach Anthony Chiejina, Chief Corporate Communications Officer for Dangote Group, were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
As the blockade continues, residents say their message is clear: they will no longer remain silent while their communities are emptied and their lives endangered.
