Armed gunmen launched a deadly assault on Rani Ramat village in the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State. The attack tragically resulted in one death and the abduction of the village head.

The incident, according to information gathered, took place around 6:20 pm on Sunday. This was during the time of the Maghrib prayer, when many residents were gathered at the village mosque.

Witness accounts state that the assailants arrived on motorcycles and immediately began firing their weapons indiscriminately. In the ensuing chaos, one resident, identified as Alhaji Liman, was fatally shot. The attackers then seized the village head, Alhaji Ndako, and whisked him away to a location that remains unknown.

The raid reportedly caused panic in the community as residents fled to nearby villages for safety.

Local sources said the attack lasted several minutes before the gunmen retreated into the bush.

The chairman of Patigi Local Government, Hon Ahmed Rufai, confirmed the incident on Sunday night. He said local vigilantes and hunters had immediately mobilised into the bush to rescue the abducted village head.

Rufai said the local council, with support from the state government, had been working with security agents and vigilantes to tackle insecurity in the area.

He, however, called for stronger action to flush the bandits out of the forests.

He expressed optimism that the state government's ongoing recruitment and planned equipping of forest guards would help change the situation.

Meanwhile, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had met with stakeholders from Edu and Patigi local government areas over the insecurity in some parts of the district.

At the meeting, the stakeholders acknowledged the government's efforts but urged it to deploy more troops and newly trained National Forest Guards to flush out the bandits from their hideouts.

Responding, the governor explained that he had taken up the security concerns with the Presidency and military authorities, assuring that more troops would soon be deployed to the affected areas.

He also disclosed plans to establish a homegrown community security structure as a first line of defence to complement the National Forest Guards.