Two security guards, Isikilu Dauda 'M', 55, and Rasaki Abbas 'M', have been arrested by the Ibafo Divisional Headquarters of the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly killing a traveller, Promise 'M', with a machete. The incident occurred on Friday, 10th April 2026, at about 0700hrs in Ibafo, Ogun State, after the victim arrived in the area late the previous night. Police spokesperson Oluseyi Babaseyi stated that detectives responded to a tip-off, rescued the victim, and rushed him to the hospital.
While en route, the victim identified himself and said he had been attacked by security guards. He was confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital. A trail of blood led police to one suspect, resulting in the arrest of both men. The body was taken to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, for post-mortem. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta, for further investigation.
Police Commissioner Bode Ojajuni condemned the attack and reiterated zero tolerance for extrajudicial violence. Authorities are still searching for other suspects believed to be fleeing.
The arrest of two security guards for the fatal macheting of a traveller in Ibafo exposes the unchecked power some private enforcers wield in Nigeria's informal security networks. Isikilu Dauda and Rasaki Abbas, both armed and operating under the guise of community protection, allegedly killed Promise 'M' simply for arriving late—a flimsy justification that reveals how easily vigilante roles morph into lethal authority.
This case did not begin with a crime but with a curfew of convenience, enforced by men who are neither police nor magistrates. The victim's attempt to identify himself while bleeding in an ambulance underscores the grotesque irony: he was treated as a suspect until death, despite being the one attacked. The police, arriving only after a tip-off, now chase accomplices, suggesting a network beyond two rogue guards. Such incidents are common in peri-urban zones like Ibafo, where state presence is thin and security outsourced to unregulated groups.
Ordinary Nigerians, especially inter-state travellers and night commuters, face real danger when checkpoints double as execution points. The fear of being "in the wrong place at the wrong time" is now a daily calculation for drivers, bus passengers, and commercial riders moving through towns like Ibafo.
This is not an isolated brutality. It fits a pattern where local security operatives, often hired by communities or developers, operate with near-total impunity—armed, untrained, and emboldened by silence.
