KEY POINTS

• Suspected Ansaru terrorists killed three soldiers and seized an army gun truck during a pre-dawn raid in Kemanji, Kwara.
• Separate attacks on the same day killed 11 people across Plateau and Benue states.
• A Kwara traditional ruler was also abducted over the weekend with kidnappers demanding N400 million for his release.

Suspected Ansaru terrorists launched a coordinated pre-dawn assault on a military camp in Kwara State Monday, killing three soldiers, wounding others and making off with an army gun truck, motorcycles and ammunition in a two-hour firefight that local sources say exposed dangerous gaps in the security of communities bordering Kainji National Park.

The attack struck Kemanji community in Kaiama Local Government Area at about 3 a.m. and raged until roughly 5 a.m., as a combined team of soldiers, forest guards and vigilantes exchanged fire with the assailants. Two vigilantes were also killed in the engagement.

“They came into Kemanji around 3 a.m. and attacked the security post. They killed three soldiers and two vigilantes, while many others were injured. They also took about 12 motorcycles, guns and ammunition, and even went away with the army gun truck,” a former local council chairman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The attackers, believed to be Ansaru fighters operating out of Kainji National Park, targeted the military camp directly and made no move against civilian residents.

“The terrorists did not kidnap or harm any residents. They only engaged the security personnel,” a community source said.

A resident who confirmed the account said the theft of the military vehicle raised suspicion about possible local informants. “Three soldiers were killed.

The army also neutralised some of them, but they carried their people away using the army vehicle they took. That raises suspicion that they may have informants around,” he said.

Kwara governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq confirmed on X that the attack occurred and that several assailants were neutralised. He said an attempted kidnapping was also foiled during the operation and extended condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers.

Kwara monarch abducted, N400m demanded

The Kemanji attack was not Kwara’s only security incident over the weekend. On Saturday, 10 armed men abducted Oba Salman Olatunjo Aweda, traditional ruler of Olayinka community in Ifelodun Local Government Area, after breaking down the door of his palace and demanding money the community’s illegal miners had paid him earlier in the day.

The monarch’s brother was abducted alongside him but was later tied to a tree and left behind after he collapsed from exhaustion and told the attackers to kill him if they wished.

The terrorists contacted the community demanding N400 million ransom for the monarch’s release. Kwara Police Commissioner Adekimi Ojo confirmed the arrest of 42 illegal miners in connection with the abduction, though investigations are continuing.

Plateau and Benue add to the toll

The same 24-hour period brought fresh attacks elsewhere. In Plateau State, six people were killed and eight injured in two separate incidents: four killed and five injured in Hurum Gashish community, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, and two killed with three wounded in Shonong Bachi community, Riyom Local Government Area. Both attacks occurred Sunday night, sending residents fleeing their homes.

In Benue State, suspected armed herders killed five people in Tse Ameen community, Gwer West Local Government Area on Saturday night. Police spokesperson Udeme Edet confirmed four bodies recovered.

Rescued JAMB candidate recounts captivity

Also in Benue, Agatha Buter, one of the 13 passengers rescued from kidnappers after being abducted on the Makurdi-Otukpo highway last week, described what she and the other captives endured. Eight of the abducted passengers were UTME candidates en route to write exams in Otukpo.

“They threatened us with guns and bullets and beat us with cutlasses to force our parents to raise the ransom of N10 million they demanded,” she said, adding that the male victims bore the worst of the physical abuse.

She said captors fed them garri with salt and occasionally mangoes, and by the third day there was no food and they were drinking unsafe water.

CDS visits Zamfara, orders troops to crush terrorists

Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Olufemi Oluyede visited the headquarters of Operation Fasan Yamma in Gusau, Zamfara State, where he charged troops to pursue and eliminate criminal elements until lasting peace was restored.

“The safety of our citizens rests on our shoulders. You must remain resolute and go after these criminals until they are eliminated. We must make Nigeria safe at all cost,” he told the troops.