An inspector of police has been killed and others injured after gunmen ambushed a patrol team at the Budo Masalasi border area of Oyo State on Saturday. Police said the officers were on routine patrol when armed assailants opened fire, leaving the inspector fatally wounded. The injured officers were taken to a nearby hospital, while the identity of the slain officer was not immediately disclosed.
Confirming the incident, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the command had launched a manhunt for the attackers. The killing has heightened fears among residents and security operatives over escalating violent attacks in the area.
In a related development, bandits again struck Kajuru in Kaduna State, abducting six residents in the early hours of Saturday, even as Christian leaders held prayers for the release of 177 worshippers kidnapped about two weeks earlier. A resident, Steven Kefas, said the assailants invaded Unguwar Barkonu around 1 a.m., breaking into homes and taking victims to an unknown destination. Authorities had yet to issue an official response to the latest abductions at the time of reporting.
Meanwhile, former presidential aspirant Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim accused the Federal Government and the ruling All Progressives Congress of complicity in Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, citing what he described as repeated denial and suppression of facts. He warned that terrorism and mass kidnappings would persist unless authorities confront alleged compromises within the security apparatus.
