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Isapa is about 5km to Eruku in the same Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, where bandits attacked a church last week Tuesday, during an evening church service killing three, while 38 were abducted.
File: A survivor of the November 18 attack on Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, Eruku.
The community was savoring the release of the abductees on Sunday morning, when another attack occurred in the neighbouring Isapa community.
Vanguard reliably gathered that the attack occurred around 7 p.m. on Monday, when the armed bandits stormed the community with a large herd of cattle.
The gunmen, it was gathered, reportedly fired sporadically as they advanced, forcing residents to flee for safety.
Sources close to the town told journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday that an elderly woman was reportedly killed by a stray bullet during the assault.
A community leader, who pleaded to remain anonymous, confirmed the incident, saying 11 people were initially abducted. Seven of the victims belong to the same family.
The kidnapped victims include a pregnant woman, two nursing mothers, and several young children.
The initial 11 victims
The abducted individuals have been identified as:
Talatu Kabiru (Female, 20)
Magaji (Male, 6)
Kande (Female, 5)
Hadiza (Female, 10)
Mariam (Female, 6)
Saima (Female, 5)
A house wife, Habibat
A housewife, Fatima Yusufu
A pregnant woman, Sarah Sunday (Female, 22)
Lami Fidelis (Female, 23, nursing mother)
Haja Na Allah (Nursing mother)
Six more
Also, Vanguard gathered that the attackers moved through parts of the town, leaving bullet holes in walls and doors.
Expended AK-47 shells were found scattered across the community after the gunmen fled.
Meanwhile, the Treasurer of Isapa Peoples Union, IPU, Mr. Abayomi Daramola, who also confirmed the attack in an interview with Vanguard on Tuesday, said the bandits also went after a businessman who was abducted last year and released after payment of N2 million ransom.
Daramola said he was tracked to his residence, a large compound. When the bandits arrived, the businessman was not at home. Angrily the bandits abducted no fewer than six people – his two wives and four children.
“The figures are so conflicting, we don’t know which one to believe,” he added.
One Prince Oguntola Aboyegi, a native of the Isapa community, also confirmed the incident.
Contacted, Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, who confirmed the fresh attack in Isapa, said he just returned to Ilorin from the community, adding that the PPRO is preparing a comprehensive report about the incident.
‘Yes, there’s a fresh bandits attack in Isapa. I just returned from the place. The PPRO is preparing a comprehensive report,” he said.
Governor AbdulRazaq sets up committee
Meanwhile, the state governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Tuesday announced a cabinet-level security committee to midwife alternative short-to-long term solutions to curtail further security breaches.
The committee is headed by deputy governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi, with Dr. Olufunke Mercy Shittu of the Office of the Head of Service, as the secretary.
Other members of the committee are Special Adviser on Security Matters Brigadier General Saliu Tunde Bello; Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development Abdullahi Bata; Senior Special Assistant on Security Alhaji Muhyideen Aliu; Special Assistant on Security Alhaji Moshood Gobir; one local government chairman from each of the three Senatorial Districts.
A statement issued in Ilorin by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye, stated that the committee will midwife exclusive engagements with different stakeholders, including traditional rulers, to design a Kwara-specific security strategy to strengthen public safety.
“The committee will submit its report to the governor within four weeks for further considerations and actions.
“Its recommendations are to further enrich existing understanding of the nationwide security situations from local perspectives,” the statement added.
