KOGI GOVERNOR ODODO HAILS KSM ENDOWMENT FUND, REVEALS HOW STATE NEUTRALISED BANDITRY KINGPINS TERRORISING SEVEN STATES

The Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, delivered one of the most compelling addresses at the unveiling of the KSM Nigeria Endowment Fund and Integrated Charity Initiative in Abuja, Thursday, drawing a powerful link between his administration’s security achievements and the humanitarian mission of the Knights of Saint Mulumba,.

He disclosed a dramatic operational detail of how Kogi State neutralised two notorious banditry kingpins who had terrorised communities across seven Nigerian states.

Governor Ododo, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of Kogi State (SSG), Dr. Folashade Arike Ayoade, Abuja, as Special Guest of Honour, in Abuja, told the distinguished gathering that the core priority of his administration and the core purpose of the KSM Endowment Fund were united on the same moral foundation: the protection of human life and the restoration of dignity to those whom violence has shattered.

“Behind every kidnapping, every act of banditry, and every terrorist attack, there is a family whose life has been shattered. It is important to me that the Order has made aiding victims of violence and terrorism the very first pillar of this Endowment Fund.”

Governor Ododo provided a striking account of his administration’s security transformation since assuming office in January 2024.

He disclosed that Kogi State had absorbed 2,752 vigilantes into a structured security framework and equipped over 1,050 hunters across its 21 local government areas, with a Quick Response Unit established, 50 armoured patrol vans procured, high-tech combat drones deployed to deny criminals forest cover, and a new 21 Battalion Barracks established at Anyigba in partnership with the Nigerian Army.

Governor Ododo said that two specific operational triumphs that drew sustained applause from the audience. He revealed that Kachalla Kabiru, described as “the central node coordinating banditry and kidnapping across Kogi, Kwara, Benue, Enugu, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo States” was neutralised in February in a coordinated operation involving the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services, and Nigerian Air Force precision airstrikes.

In June, a joint operation eliminated another notorious kingpin, Kachalla Ibrahim Battijo, along with more than fifteen gang members, simultaneously foiling a planned mass abduction of pupils sitting their West African Senior School Certificate Examinations at Iluke community.

“These men were national nightmares who terrorised communities across seven states. In our state, they finally met the justice they had for so long evaded.”

The Governor placed on record his administration’s gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for granting Kogi State access to air support and for the ₦5.41 trillion allocation to defence and security in the 2026 Appropriation, which he said left no doubt about the President’s determination to defeat terrorism.

Turning to the humanitarian dimension, Governor Ododo outlined Kogi State’s social programmes, which he said converged directly with the KSM Endowment Fund’s seven pillars.

He listed a ₦7 billion commitment to rehabilitate 88 Primary Health Care Centres, the October 2025 launch of the Kogi State Health Insurance Scheme, free education and free examination registration for children backed by a 30 per cent annual education budget, and targeted empowerment for widows, orphans, and displaced persons through the State Community and Social Development Agency and the HOPE Programme with the World Bank.

In a moment of particular pride, the Governor saluted four Kogi State indigenes holding national leadership positions within the KSM: the Supreme Knight himself, Sir Steve Zakari Adehi, SAN; Sir Johnson Jimoh of Kogi East, the Abuja Metropolitan Grand Knight; Lady Agnes Eneji of Kogi West, the Abuja Metropolitan Lady President; and Sir Dan Okolo of Kogi Central, the National Vice Chairman of the KSM Endowment Fund and Charity Initiative.

According to the Governor, “Kogi State is proud of these distinguished citizens. Their leadership brings honour to our state, and my administration will continue to stand with them, and with the Order, as this noble initiative unfolds.”

The Governor closed with a stirring interfaith appeal, drawing on the Islamic obligations of zakat and sadaqah, the Christian corporal works of mercy, and the traditional covenant of hospitality as “one moral inheritance, held in different tongues” and called on all faith-based organisations across Nigeria to build similar enduring frameworks for the wounded and forgotten. “The government carries the sword; faith carries the balm,” he declared.

The KSM Endowment Fund, the brainchild of the Supreme Knight of the Order of the Knights of St Mulumba, Nigeria, Sir Steve Adehi, SAN, targets an initial capital base of ₦2 billion, to be permanently invested with only investment income deployed across its seven charity pillars.

The Fund was officially unveiled in the presence of prominent Nigerians, representative of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, representative of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.