No fewer than 10 members of local vigilante groups, including forest guards, have been killed by armed bandits in Kwara community, while five others were abducted.
According to residents of Oke-Ode community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, where the incident happened on Sunday, armed bamdits (terrorists) invaded the agrarian town in large numbers in the early hours, and unleashed lethal attack on the vigilantes, who reprotedly fought back.
SaharaReporters reported that the vigilantes, who have long served as the first line of defence for rural communities in the absence of a consistent military presence, were reportedly overpowered by the attackers.
A video obtained by the online news platform shows several lifeless bodies lying in pools of blood as grieving family members and sympathisers gathered around them in anguish.
A source in the area described the situation as “terrible,” lamenting the sudden withdrawal of Nigerian soldiers who had previously been stationed nearby.
“We don’t know why they withdrew the soldiers. Now our people are exposed. We learnt that 10 people were killed and five were kidnapped. The situation is now terrible,” the source said.
The incident has reportedly heightened fear among villagers who rely heavily on vigilante groups for security in the face of recurring bandit attacks in Kwara South and North of the state.
Confirming the attack, the press secretary to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Rafiu Ajakaye, described the killings as devastating. Writing in a WhatsApp group, he said the situation is devastating beyond words.
cpcnews.org 