By Billy Young l May 25, 2026
A police officer involved in efforts to repel a terrorist attack on Yashikira community in Kwara State has contradicted official claims by the Kwara State Police Command, alleging that heavily armed terrorists overwhelmed security personnel with superior firepower before invading the palace of the Emir of Yashikira.
According to the officer, who spoke anonymously to Sahara Reporters, security operatives stationed in the area were unable to withstand the assault due to the sophistication and intensity of weapons used by the attackers. The source claimed that the terrorists overpowered police personnel and local vigilantes before storming the emir’s palace and surrounding parts of the community.
The account contradicts earlier statements from the Kwara State Police Command, which reportedly downplayed the extent of the attack and suggested that security agencies had the situation under control. Local residents, however, have continued to describe the incident as one of the most serious assaults recorded in the area in recent months.
Reports indicate that several residents were abducted during the invasion, while properties, including sections of the emir’s palace, were allegedly destroyed or set ablaze by the attackers. Witnesses also described widespread panic as residents fled into nearby bushes and neighboring communities to escape the violence.
The attack forms part of a broader wave of insecurity affecting parts of Kwara State, where communities have increasingly faced kidnappings, deadly raids, and coordinated assaults linked to armed groups operating around forest corridors bordering Niger State and neighboring regions. Earlier reports from Sahara Reporters detailed similar attacks in Woro and other communities where dozens of people were reportedly killed or abducted.
Security analysts have raised concerns that terrorist groups are expanding operations into previously calmer parts of North-Central Nigeria, exploiting weak rural security structures and difficult terrain to carry out attacks. Community leaders in affected areas have repeatedly called on the federal government and security agencies to deploy additional troops and improve intelligence gathering across vulnerable settlements.
Residents of Yashikira reportedly remain fearful following the latest attack, with many families displaced and uncertainty continuing over the fate of those abducted during the invasion. Authorities had yet to provide a comprehensive casualty figure or confirm the total number of persons kidnapped as of press time.