Nigeria, June 29 -- The folks of Igbaja in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State remember 28 September 2024 as a sad day in their community's history. In the evening of that Sunday, Lukman Balogun, the head of the local vigilantes and a major traditional title holder in the town, was killed in an incident reminiscent of pre-colonial times.

A video that trended across the Kwara South Senatorial District in the following days shows a town crier balefully marching around the town, screaming into a megaphone: "Nwon ti pa Balogun o! Nwon ti pa Balogun o!!" (They have killed the head of the king's warriors!) His report drew cries of horror from shocked bystanders and wailings from a group of women at a marketplace.

Mr Balogun and his ...