It was just after 2 a.m. when gunfire shattered the quiet in Yashikira. By sunrise, part of the Emir’s palace was in ashes and 10 people - including the ruler’s wives and children - were gone.

Suspected bandits have abducted 10 people and set fire to part of the Emir’s palace during a midnight raid on Yashikira community in Kwara State, police confirmed.

According to the Kwara State Police Command, the attack happened around 2:00 a.m. on Monday. It wasn’t just the palace that was targeted - the gunmen launched what police called a “co-ordinated and desperate” assault on both the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters and the palace of the Emir, Alhaji Umar Seriki.

Police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said officers on duty managed to repel the attack on the station. But the palace wasn’t so lucky. Part of it was razed, and 10 people were taken to an unknown location.

“The armed criminals, in a co-ordinated and desperate assault at about 0200hrs, simultaneously attacked the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters and the Palace of the Emir of Yashikira,” the statement read.

The Command condemned the attack as “cowardly and audacious” and said a full-scale tactical operation is now under way. Commissioner of Police Ojo Adekimi has ordered the military, police, forest guards, vigilantes and other security outfits to work together to rescue the victims and track down the attackers.

“We will deploy everything within our operational capacity to smoke them out of hiding, dismantle their networks, rescue all abducted victims, and ensure they face the full wrath of the law,” police said.

But residents told cbinews.tv the raid began even earlier - some say between midnight and 2:00 a.m. One local, speaking anonymously, claimed three of the Emir’s wives and four of his children were among those taken.

“I just finished communicating with my father right now. In his report, he said three of the wives of the Emir and four children were abducted, including some resident members of the community,” the resident said.

Another witness, Tukur Ahmed, described how the attackers rolled in on motorcycles and headed straight for the palace.

“They were shooting into the air and broke into the inner quarters where the Emir’s wives and children were,” Ahmed told cbinewstv. “They took three of the wives and four children, alongside some other residents, before setting the cars on fire and leaving the town.”

Sources confirmed several palace vehicles were set ablaze, with property damage estimated to run into millions of naira. The Emir himself was not in the palace at the time.

Security agencies have since begun bush-combing and surveillance operations across Baruten Local Government Area. It’s the latest in a string of attacks across Kwara North, where Baruten, Kaiama, Edu and Patigi LGAs have seen a rise in banditry targeting rural communities, highways and traditional institutions in recent months.

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