UPDATED: Panic in Ondo as suspected bandits attack community, burn down police station

The heavily armed attackers, numbering 20, invaded Ipele in Owo LGA at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have attacked Ipele in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, sending fresh panic across the town.

Reports say residents have been displaced from their homes and are seeking refuge in nearby bushes for fear of being killed by the gunmen.

A resident who spoke to our correspondent on the phone but did not want his name mentioned due to fear of being attacked said the incident occurred at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

He said the gunmen attacked the Divisional Police Headquarters in the town with gunfire and explosives.

It was also reported that the attackers, numbering about 20, targeted the police facility and subsequently set it ablaze.

“As I speak to you, we are still hiding in a nearby bush for fear that they might attack us at our houses.”

“We just received information that soldiers have been deployed to the scene to handle the situation. We are not anywhere near confirming that,” he said.

Another resident who claimed to be close to the scene when the attack occurred said the gunmen, who came heavily armed, overwhelmed the police personnel on duty for over an hour before fleeing the scene.

“It was a terrorist attack. The attackers, numbering about 20, came into the Ipele community in a commando style and began to shoot sporadically before attacking the Police Divisional Station in Ipele,” the resident said.

“It was a serious incident because many of us had to flee into the bush. The sounds from the attack were terrifying, and none of us could withstand it.”

At the time of filing this report, there was no official confirmation of casualties, though security agencies have since been deployed to the area.

‎Police speak

‎The Ondo State Police Command has reacted to the attack, stating no church was involved in the attack.

‎In a statement by its Spokesperson, Jimoh Abayomi, the police condemned the attack on the Ipele Divisional Police Headquarters.

‎The statement proceeded to give details on how the gunmen unleashed terror on the rural community.

‎”According to preliminary reports, at about 9:41 p.m., a group of armed men numbering between 20 and 30 invaded the police station, firing assault rifles and deploying dynamite,” the statement read.

‎”The attackers set the station ablaze, leading to the destruction of the building and several exhibits. However, no life was lost in the attack as of the time of this report.

‎”Upon receipt of the report, a joint patrol comprising the Police, Military, Civil Defence, and other non-state actors promptly mobilised to the scene; however, the attackers had already carried out the act before their arrival.”

‎Speaking on the development, the Commissioner of Police for the State, Adebowale Lawal, described the attack as “a tragic and reprehensible act against the peace and security of Ondo State.”

‎He urged members of the public to remain calm, assuring them that the situation is firmly under control.

‎He also ordered the immediate deployment of additional operational assets, including Tactical Teams, Explosive Ordnance Disposal–Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) units, and Police Mobile Force personnel to the area.

‎He said a coordinated manhunt for the attackers is currently underway.

‎The attack is coming barely a week after the US coordinated air strikes on terrorists’ hideouts in Sokoto State and some parts of the North.

‎The terrorists have continued their attacks with a Christmas Eve attack on a Mosque in Borno State, showing that the bandits still have the capacity to strike at any spot within the country despite the onslaught against them.

The attack, which occurred at Gambaru Market Mosque in Maiduguri, the state capital, left five people dead and 35 others injured.

Wednesday’s attack in Ipele would be the second in the Owo Local Government Area by gunmen.

The first was the 5 June 2022 mass shooting and bomb attack in a Catholic Church in Owo, during which scores were killed, and several others were injured in others were wounded in the attack.