Five civilians were reportedly killed and others injured in a clash between soldiers and commercial drivers caused by disagreement over alleged extortion of money at a military checkpoint on the border route in Ilesha-Baruba, Baruten local government area of Kwara State.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has called for calm and restraint against activities that can trigger new tension in the area, which left residents of the community devastated.
The governor, in a statement through his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, yesterday said he had been in constant touch with all stakeholders in the community, including traditional institutions and security forces since the unfortunate incident.
While commiserating with families of those who died in the military-civilian fracas, he described the loss of lives as ‘unfortunate’ and ‘definitely avoidable’.
“The incident is sad and definitely avoidable”, AbdulRazaq said in the statement.
He said that a government delegation would pay a condolence visit to the affected community while an investigation would be conducted to establish all the facts and forestall a repeat of the sad and unfortunate incident.
