Terror swept through Kogi State on Saturday as ruthless bandits slaughtered at least 27 residents in coordinated midnight raids on several communities in Yagba West Local Government Area, leaving blood, grief and fear in their wake.
Security sources said the assaults, which occurred between Thursday and Saturday, left dozens of residents dead and many others injured as gunmen invaded multiple villages, shooting indiscriminately.
A military source described the attackers as “heavily armed” and equipped with sophisticated weapons.
“Bandits killed 27 people in Yagba West, Kogi State, just yesterday, and it was not reported. They invaded the area with heavy weapons,” the source said.
The affected area is home to Senator Sunday Karimi, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District and serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Services.
On Friday, the bandits invaded Bareke, Egbe, around 2 a.m., abducting a woman and her two children from their residence. The woman’s husband escaped with injuries. The attack reportedly occurred close to the home of Senator Karimi.
A day earlier, on Thursday, armed men ambushed a commercial bus in Ejiba, kidnapping all passengers and killing a motorcyclist. Earlier that same day, the gang had raided Bethel Farm, also in Ejiba, abducting three people. A bread distributor was attacked along the Ejiba Odo Eri route, where one of the workers was shot.
Photographs obtained from the affected communities show a burnt motorcycle said to belong to local vigilantes who confronted the gunmen.
In recent weeks, several villages in Yagba West, including Okunran, have been deserted as residents flee the recurrent raids.
As of the time of filing this report, the Kogi State Police Command and state government authorities had yet to issue an official statement on the latest killings.
Residents have appealed to the federal and state governments to deploy more security personnel to the area to prevent further bloodshed.