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The Kwara State Police Command has confirmed that at least 12 people, including the Baale of Ogbayo, were killed during a bandit attack on Oke-Ode community in Ifelodun Local Government Area on Sunday morning.
According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, on Sunday, September 28, the incident occurred around 7 a.m. when armed men stormed the Ogbayo area, firing indiscriminately and targeting members of the local vigilante group.
Police officers and personnel from the National Forest Security Service (NFSS) responded swiftly to distress calls but arrived to find 12 vigilante members dead, including the community leader. Four others were injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
“At about 7:00 a.m. today, armed men invaded the Ogbayo area of Oke-Ode, shooting sporadically. A combined team of police operatives and NFSS personnel responded swiftly to the scene, where they discovered 12 lifeless bodies of vigilante members, including the Baale of Ogbayo,” the statement read.
Ejire-Adeyemi hinted that joint security forces, including the police, military, and NFSS, had intensified a manhunt for the perpetrators and assured residents that those responsible would be brought to justice.
The Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, described the killings as “heinous” and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property across the state.
The Oke-Ode attack is the latest in a series of violent raids in Kwara, particularly in the northern and southern regions, where vigilantes, business owners, and residents have increasingly become targets of armed bandits.
Reports indicate that an unspecified number of residents were also abducted during the attack, leaving the community in mourning.
A member of the local vigilante group, identified as Ajetunmobi, accused the authorities of downplaying the scale of the incident, dismissing claims that the attackers had been repelled.
