Kwara State has once again been thrown into mourning and fear following a deadly midnight attack by suspected herders on Bokungi, a quiet agrarian community under the Lafiagi Emirate in Edu Local Government Area. The brutal invasion, which occurred around 1:30am on Thursday, left a resident, Mr. Ladan, dead in cold blood.
According to eyewitness accounts obtained by SaharaReporters, the assailants crept into the village under the cover of darkness while residents were fast asleep. Mr. Ladan was shot at close range and succumbed to his injuries before help could arrive.
“There was nobody to help him at that hour—no security, no vigilante, no local defence. He was left to die a painful death,” a visibly shaken resident who visited the scene early Thursday morning told SaharaReporters.
The attack has further underscored the growing concerns over insecurity in Kwara State, especially in its northern axis. Residents expressed frustration that security operatives only arrived in the community hours after the attackers had vanished without a trace.
“The government only mobilised security personnel this morning—long after the killers had escaped,” another source lamented, highlighting the persistent failure of authorities to respond proactively to threats in the region.
Efforts to get a response from the Kwara State Police Command have so far proved futile. Multiple calls and text messages to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Toun Ejire, went unanswered as of the time this report was filed.
This latest incident is part of a disturbing pattern of violence that has gripped Kwara State in recent months.
Just a day before, on Wednesday, SaharaReporters reported a harrowing attack in Lile village, Patigi Local Government Area, where bandits gunned down a prominent businessman and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ward leader, Alhaji Abdullahi Kpotun, along with his son during a botched abduction attempt.
“The gunmen stormed Kpotun’s residence on Tuesday night and killed him and his son without mercy,” a local source revealed.
The same night, the bandits reportedly extended their killing spree to another household in the village, claiming yet another life. “It was not only his family that was attacked—they killed someone else too,” the source added grimly.
The wave of violence is not new to Kwara North. On June 3, 2025, SaharaReporters reported a coordinated onslaught on Patigi and Ndanaku communities by suspected gunmen, leading to the deaths of two people, including a well-known pharmacy owner.
As rural communities across Kwara continue to reel under a rising tide of insecurity, many are calling on the state and federal governments to stop paying lip service to security and provide concrete action to protect lives and properties.
“The people are helpless, abandoned, and living in fear. How many more lives must be lost before the government acts?” a community leader in Edu LGA asked rhetorically.
With no arrests made and little assurance of safety, residents now fear that more attacks may be imminent if urgent interventions are not implemented.
PIONEER NEWS 