The Commissioner of police in Kwara state, Mr Tuesday Assayomo has dismissed reports that some forests in the state have been occupied by bandits to attack the residents.
Assayomo, urged residents to give information about any negative development or strange movement in any part of the state to police authorities and asked them to continue to live in peace as hunters and local vigilantes have been co-opted into a routine patrol of the forest, towards ensuring that no part of it was infiltrated by the bandits.
He described as fake, the reports trending on social media that bandits have taken over parts of Kwara forests, describing the writers as mischievous, desirous of sowing a seed of distrust and fear in the minds of the good people of Kwara State and Nigeria at large.
The Commissioner of police said this in a statement issued by spokesman of the command, Ajayi Okasanmi, Saturday evening in Ilorin.
The statement reads, “the Kwara State Police Command wishes to debunk a fake intelligence report circulating on several social media platforms to the effect that some forest reserves in parts of Kwara State have been surrounded and ready to be used as launching pads to attack Kwara State and some neighbouring states in the country.
“The command wishes to state categorically that Kwara state is safe and secured and no part of Kwara State is occupied by bandits or terrorists.”
It noted that, “the writer and sharer of that fake intelligence report are mischievous, desirous of sowing a seed of distrust and fear in the minds of the good people of Kwara state in particular and Nigeria in general; an attempt to create panic in the minds of peace loving Kwarans. They have failed!”
