By Imisioluwa Afunmiso
Suspected bandits in the early hours of Sunday launched a coordinated attack on the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters and the Palace of the Emir of Yashikira in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, abducting 10 persons and setting part of the palace ablaze.
The Kwara State Police Command, which confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Sunday, said the attack occurred at about 2:00 a.m. when the armed criminals simultaneously invaded both locations.
According to the Command’s spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, police operatives on duty successfully repelled the assault on the police station, preventing the attackers from gaining access to the facility.
However, the assailants reportedly set a section of the Emir’s palace on fire and whisked away 10 residents to an unknown destination.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ojo Adekimi, has since ordered a full-scale tactical operation involving the Police, Military, Forest Guards, Vigilantes and other security agencies to track down the perpetrators and rescue the abducted victims.
The police said security operatives have begun intensive bush-combing and intelligence-driven operations across surrounding forests and suspected criminal hideouts in the area.
Condemning the attack, the police commissioner assured residents that the Command remained determined to confront criminal elements threatening peace in the state.
“These criminals have declared war against peace-loving citizens, and we are fully prepared to hunt them down relentlessly. We will deploy everything within our operational capacity to smoke them out of hiding, dismantle their networks, rescue all abducted victims, and ensure they face the full wrath of the law,” the CP stated.
The Command also assured residents of Yashikira and other vulnerable communities in Baruten LGA that security surveillance and intelligence gathering had been intensified to forestall further attacks.
The latest incident has heightened concerns over insecurity in border communities within the state, particularly in areas sharing boundaries with neighbouring countries.