Fear has gripped residents of Kwara North following a fresh midnight attack on Maganiko Ndanangi, a community under the Lafiagi Emirate in Edu Local Government Area, where a woman and a teenage girl were abducted.
The assailants, suspected to be terrorists, stormed the community around midnight on Sunday, firing shots into the air to disperse residents before seizing their victims.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers, who met no resistance, whisked away a married woman, identified as Aisha, popularly known as Gogo, and a 16-year-old girl, Amina, to an unknown location.
The latest incident adds to a string of violent attacks that have rocked Edu and neighbouring Patigi Local Government Area in recent weeks.
On September 17, bandits killed a local vigilante commander known as Tetengi during a raid on Kakafu village, while on September 7, the wife and daughter of the All Progressives Congress chairman in Patigi LGA, Alhaji Muhammad Swasun, were abducted in Sakpefu community.
Other villages, including Esanti and Lalagi, have also been targeted, leaving at least one person dead and several others kidnapped.
The wave of abductions has forced many villagers to flee their homes.
“The incessant kidnappings and killings are getting out of hand. Many families are already displaced.
We are calling on the government to urgently take drastic action,” a community elder told reporters.
When contacted, spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said she had yet to receive a full briefing on the incident but assured that updates would be provided.