Police Abandoned Station During Yashikira Attack – Palace Source Alleges

A source within the Emir’s palace in Yashikira, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, has alleged that police officers abandoned their divisional headquarters during a coordinated midnight attack by terrorists.

The source who spoke with Sahara Reporters claimed the attackers later entered the police station and seized AK-47 rifles allegedly left behind by fleeing officers.

The account contradicts the official statement by the Kwara State Police Command, which said police operatives successfully repelled the attack on the divisional headquarters.

Speaking with SaharaReporters on Tuesday evening, the palace source alleged that the attackers stormed the community with heavy weapons, forcing security operatives to flee.

The source said, “Are the Nigerian police ready to fight bandits anyway? Immediately the police heard about them coming, the policemen had to vacate and abandon the police station.

“The police abandoned the police station; the bandits entered the police station and took away all the AK-47s there.”

The source insisted that there was no armed resistance from the police at the station.

“Yes, they entered the police station and took away all their weapons because the police abandoned their posts,” the source added.

The allegation followed an official statement by the Kwara State Police Command confirming that suspected bandits attacked Yashikira community in the early hours of Sunday, May 24, 2026.

The attack targeted both the Emir’s palace and the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters. According to the police, the attackers set part of the Emir’s palace ablaze and abducted 10 residents.

The command, however, said officers on duty repelled the assault on the police station.

In the statement signed by the command’s spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the police described the attack as “cowardly and audacious.”

The statement read, “The armed criminals, in a coordinated and desperate assault at about 0200hrs, simultaneously attacked the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters and the Palace of the Emir of Yashikira.

“However, the attack on the police station was successfully repelled by police operatives on duty.”

The command said the Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, had ordered a full-scale tactical operation involving security agencies to rescue the abducted victims and arrest the attackers.

It added that security operations had been intensified across vulnerable communities in Baruten Local Government Area.

The operations include intelligence gathering and bush-combing efforts aimed at restoring public confidence and rescuing the abducted residents.

However, the palace source maintained that the attackers met little or no resistance at the police station.