Gunmen on Wednesday night attacked Ipele community in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, setting the divisional police station in the area on fire and throwing residents into panic.
The attack, which occurred on New Year\u2019s Eve, forced residents to flee their homes and disrupted crossover services across the agrarian community.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen, estimated to be between 20 and 30, stormed the community at about 9:41 p.m., firing sporadically and creating widespread fear.
According to residents, the attackers deployed explosives before setting the police facility ablaze.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the scale and intensity of the assault overwhelmed security operatives on duty and left residents with no option but to flee.
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\u201cIt was terrifying. People were running in different directions because of the heavy gunfire,\u201d the resident said.
Other residents said streets that are usually busy during crossover celebrations were completely deserted, as worshippers abandoned church services midway, shops were hastily shut and movement became restricted.
Confirming the incident in a statement on Thursday, Abayomi Jimoh, the Ondo State Police public relations officer, said the attack was specifically directed at the police station and not at any church.
He said the assault resulted in the destruction of the divisional police station and some exhibits, but noted that no casualties had been recorded as of the time of filing the report.
Adebowale Lawal, the commissioner of police in Ondo State, condemned the incident, describing it as an \u201cassault on peace and security in the state.\u201d
Lawal urged residents to remain calm, assuring them that the situation was under control.
He ordered the immediate deployment of additional tactical teams, explosive ordnance disposal units and police mobile force personnel to the area, while a coordinated manhunt for the attackers has been launched.
The police said further updates would be provided as investigations into the attack continue.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gunmen on Wednesday night attacked Ipele community in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, setting the divisional police station in the area on fire and throwing residents into panic. The attack, which occurred on New Year\u2019s Eve, forced residents to flee their homes and disrupted crossover services across the agrarian community. Eyewitnesses said the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n