Bandits Set Royal Residence Ablaze in Kwara Border Community; Abduct 10 Victims Including 3 Queens and 4 Royal Children in Midnight Raid

The security landscape in Kwara State has suffered a severe, deep fracture after an aggressive gang of armed bandits invaded the Yashikira border community, setting sections of the traditional ruler’s palace on fire and marching 10 residents including the immediate family of the Emir into the wilderness.

The coordinated, double-pronged assault unfolded under the cover of absolute darkness at about 2:00 a.m. Today Monday, May 25, 2026. According to early operational briefs from the Kwara State Police Command, the heavily armed criminal syndicate split into tactical teams to execute a desperate, simultaneous strike targeting both the local law enforcement infrastructure and the community’s ultimate traditional authority.

While one faction of the gang ran an aggressive raid on the Yashikira Police Divisional Headquarters, they ran into a brick wall. Alert officers on duty engaged the invaders in a fierce gun battle, utilizing a heavy security shield to successfully repel the assault and prevent the station from being overrun.

However, a parallel nightmare was unfolding at the Palace of the Emir of Yashikira, Alhaji Umar Seriki. The bandits broke through the palace perimeters, firing sporadically into the air to scare away able-bodied youths and neighborhood watch structures. Before retreating, the attackers intentionally set parts of the iconic royal architecture ablaze, leaving the historic structure severely damaged.

The human cost of the invasion has thrown the Baruten Local Government Area into total trauma. The Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, confirmed that 10 persons were forcefully dragged out of the compound and moved to an unverified destination. Giving a more devastating breakdown from the ground zero zone, local sources revealed that the captives include three of the Emir’s wives and four of his young children.

Reacting to the bold regional breach, Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, issued a non-negotiable directive to security commanders to initiate a total technical rescue of the victims. A massive, combined dragnet has already been activated, pushing infantry troops, elite anti-kidnapping squads, local hunters, and forest guards straight into the thick bush networks bordering Benin Republic.

The state command has assured traumatized locals that it remains battle-ready, promising to utilize every lawful operational asset to smoke the perpetrators out of their hideouts. But as the smoke settles over the charred walls of the Yashikira palace, the community faces an agonizing wait, praying that the joint security lines can close the portal on this latest wave of rural terror before more innocent blood is spilled.