Gunmen Invade Kwara Community, Kill 1, Burn Houses

Gunmen, on Sunday, reportedly attacked Karongi community in Baruten local government area of Kwara State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the gunmen killed at least one person and burned many houses in the community during the invasion.

It was gathered that the bandits took advantage of the absence of the local vigilantes in the community who had travelled out to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir outside the community.

Sources, however, said that the gunmen were later dislodged from the community by the combined team of soldiers and vigilante men mobilised from the neighbouring communities in the area.

The Emir of Yashikira Emirate in Baruten local government, Alh Umoru Sariki, confirmed the incident.

The Emir said that one person was killed during the attack while many houses were burned by the bandits.

Umoru said, “Yes, the bandits struck at about 6am on Sunday morning. They attacked Karongi town in my Emirate. They killed one person and burned many houses in the community.

“They took advantage of the absence of vigilante men who have travelled for Sallah while some had also gone for training. They invaded the town for hours, from 6am to 11am. We have to go to the surrounding communities in the Emirate to mobilise local vigilante who succeeded to chase them away at about 11 o’clock.”

Umoru appealed to the federal government and the military to establish a military base in Karongi or other communities near the area to safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians living there.

The public relations officer (PRO) of the 22 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Sobi Barracks, Ilorin, Lt. Stephen Nwankwo, also confirmed the attack on Karongi community.

He said, “Yes, the incident happened. I’m aware. One of the vigilante men was killed while some makeshift houses were set ablaze by the gunmen. The soldiers were alerted about the incident and they went to the village. The person that was killed was one of the vigilante men who escorted the soldiers to the village.

“The bandits ran away on sighting the soldiers and escaped from the area.”