Kwara gov seeks better military presence, mourns attack victims

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has renewed calls for greater military presence in the state following the deadly bandit attack on Oke-Ode community in Ifelodun Local Government Area.

At least 15 vigilantes and hunters were confirmed killed in the early Sunday assault, which also left several villagers abducted and families displaced.

The attackers, said to be heavily armed, struck forest guard posts and surrounding settlements, overwhelming local defenders before reinforcements arrived.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, the Governor described the incident as a major setback despite recent state investments in security, particularly the recruitment and training of forest guards to support conventional forces.

He condoled with the bereaved families and praised those who resisted the assailants.

“My heartfelt condolences go to the families. No word can adequately capture the depth of my sadness and nothing can compensate the bereaved families over these incidents, in spite of our efforts and the investments in enlisting and training the forest guards to bolster the conventional forces,” AbdulRazaq said.

The governor stressed that while security agencies had made progress in recent months, additional deployments were urgently needed to push back against the rising wave of criminality across Kwara South and North.

While we appreciate the efforts and unquantifiable sacrifices of the security forces as well as the successes so far, we definitely need to do a lot more until we are completely out of the wood,” he added.

AbdulRazaq further urged residents to avoid reprisal violence and commended the sacrifice of the vigilantes and hunters who confronted the bandits.

“Finally, I urge our brave residents to remain calm and avoid the temptation to turn on ourselves. I equally commend all the forest guards and the local hunters who, though lost five of their compatriots, equally neutralised several of the attackers.

“We will forever be grateful to all of them as our heroes,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Army Headquarters has directed the General Officer Commanding, 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Ibadan, to immediately relocate to Kwara to coordinate and strengthen military response to the attacks.