Bandits Attack Police Station, Set Emir’s Palace Ablaze and Abduct 10

Bandits Attack Police Station, Set Emir’s Palace Ablaze and Abduct 10

ILORIN, Nigeria- A wave of panic has gripped the border communities of Kwara State following a highly coordinated, violent assault by heavily armed bandits. The attackers simultaneously targeted a local police divisional headquarters and the palace of a prominent traditional ruler, setting parts of the royal residence on fire and abducting at least 10 people including women and children.

The Kwara State Police Command confirmed that the daring raid took place at approximately 2:00 AM on Monday in the Yashikira community, located within the Baruten Local Government Area.

According to police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the armed criminal gang launched a dual-pronged assault under the cover of darkness. One faction targeted the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters, while another simultaneously stormed the palace of the Emir of Yashikira.

“The armed criminals, in a coordinated and desperate assault at about 0200hrs, simultaneously attacked the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters and the Palace of the Emir of Yashikira,” Ejire-Adeyemi stated.

While the heavily armed gunmen successfully breached the palace firing sporadically, setting parts of the structure ablaze, and forcefully seizing 10 victims their attempt to overrun the local security architecture was thwarted. The operatives on duty at the Yashikira police station fiercely engaged the bandits, successfully repelling the raid on the station and preventing the theft of weaponry or further casualties at the base.

Local sources reported that the community was left in terror as the gunmen operated with immense aggression before fleeing into the expansive forest areas bordering the state.

This audacious assault marks a troubling escalation in a series of violent criminal incursions plaguing Kwara State. Just 24 hours prior to the Yashikira raid, suspected bandits invaded a vigil at a prayer ground in Ori-Oke Ajaiye, on the outskirts of Ikiran village in the Ekiti Local Government Area, leaving three worshippers dead and 15 others abducted.