Suspected bandits on Tuesday night carried out a deadly attack on the old office of the National Park Service (NPS) in Oloka community, Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State, killing an as-yet-undetermined number of personnel.
The Conservator of the Park, Tesleem Kareem, confirmed the incident on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.
He said the service was still grappling with the aftermath of the attack and working to evacuate the victims.
“Yes, it is true. We are in the process of evacuating the victims,” Kareem said, adding that the exact number of those killed had not been officially established.
However, information gathered by NAN indicated that the attack occurred around 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, when armed assailants invaded the facility. At least five NPS personnel were reportedly killed during the assault.
Sources said the bodies of the slain officials had yet to be recovered as of Wednesday, as they were believed to be within the surrounding forest area, posing challenges to immediate evacuation.
The incident was also confirmed by the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Ayanlade Olayinka. He disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, alongside other security chiefs, was already on their way to the location of the attack.
Olayinka said tactical teams, operatives of the Mobile Police Force, and other security personnel had been deployed to the area to prevent further breakdown of law and order.