Suspected bandits have killed a resident and abducted two women during a late-night attack on a Fulani settlement in Lafiagi, headquarters of the Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Sources in the community said the armed men stormed the settlement at about 8 p.m., firing gunshots indiscriminately and throwing the area into confusion as villagers scampered for safety.
According to residents, the attackers appeared to have come specifically in search of a prominent Fulani leader in the community, but failed to locate him during the operation.
In the course of the attack, the gunmen reportedly abducted two women believed to be wives of the Fulani leader before fleeing the scene.
A resident was also shot dead as the assailants retreated from the community, further escalating tension among locals already grappling with insecurity in the area.
Security operatives were said to have responded after receiving distress calls, with troops engaging the attackers and disrupting parts of their operation.
Confirming the incident to journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday, the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, said one person lost his life while two women were taken away by the attackers.
“Yes, one man was killed while two women, 25 and 35 years of age, who are wives of the Seriki Fulani, were abducted,” Adekimi said.
The police commissioner disclosed that preliminary findings indicated that the attackers had targeted the Fulani leader, identified as an Ardo, but were unable to capture him.
“The attackers targeted the Fulani leader, Ardo. And for now, we are still on their trail because before we got there, the military had repelled them before they ran into the forest, but we are on their trail,” he stated.
The latest attack has renewed concerns over worsening insecurity in Edu and neighbouring local government areas, where residents have repeatedly called for intensified security operations against criminal gangs operating from forested locations across the Kwara North axis.
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