Fresh claims have emerged over the security response to the recent terrorist attack on Yashikira in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, with a palace source accusing Nigerian soldiers stationed at a nearby checkpoint of abandoning the community during the assault while allegedly extorting motorists.
The source, who spoke exclusively to SaharaReporters on Tuesday evening, claimed that military personnel stationed at Chikanda failed to respond to repeated distress calls from the Yashikira Emirate as terrorists attacked the community.
According to the source, the soldiers claimed that their position was also under attack, a statement he described as false and intended to avoid confronting the armed assailants.
“And the soldiers who are stationed at the Chikanda refused to come for aide, saying they too are attacked, where it is a lie to run away from facing these terrorists,” the source said.
“When the emirate was under attack, we called them to come and help us but they refused. They claimed they too were under attack, which was a lie to run away.”
The source alleged that the soldiers only arrived in Yashikira hours after the attackers had completed their operation and fled the area.
“It was later in the morning that they came, arriving only after the terrorists had already left,” he said.
“We later found out that the soldiers stationed at Chikanda were only pretending to be under attack so they could avoid confronting the bandits. They are afraid of these terrorists too because the guns they have with them, it has been long they fired them.”
The source further alleged that the soldiers were more focused on collecting money from motorists than carrying out security duties.
“The soldiers are not ready to fight. They are only stationed at the checkpoint to be collecting N100 from the motorists that are passing by. They are busy doing that while the emirate was being attacked,” he alleged.
The latest claims come amid growing controversy over the conduct of security agencies during the attack on Yashikira, where terrorists reportedly invaded the Emir’s palace, set parts of it ablaze and abducted several residents.
Earlier, a palace source told SaharaReporters that police officers attached to the Yashikira Divisional Headquarters fled their duty post before the attackers arrived, leaving behind weapons allegedly carted away by the terrorists.
The source disputed an official statement by the Kwara State Police Command, which had maintained that officers successfully repelled the attack on the divisional headquarters.
According to the palace source, police personnel abandoned the station after receiving intelligence about the approaching terrorists, enabling the attackers to enter the facility and allegedly make away with AK-47 rifles.
“Immediately the police heard about them coming, the police had to vacate and abandon the police station,” the source had told SaharaReporters.
“The police abandoned the police station, the bandits entered the police station and took away all the AK-47s there.”
The Kwara State Police Command had, however, described the attack as a “cowardly and audacious” assault carried out at about 2:00 a.m., insisting that officers on duty repelled the attack on the police station while the assailants targeted the Emir’s palace and abducted residents.
The Command also said tactical operations had been launched across Baruten Local Government Area to rescue the victims and track down those responsible.
However, the fresh allegations by palace sources have raised further questions about the effectiveness of security deployments in the area and the response of security personnel during the attack.