The leader of Agojeju-Odo community in Kogi, Chief Elias Atabor, has urged the Federal Government to set up a military base in Omala Local Government Area to combat the frequent attacks by bandits on the residents.
Atabor voiced this plea during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Friday.
“We are so worried that the death toll keeps rising by the hour,” he said.
The community leader issued the appeal following the escalation of casualties from Thursday’s assault on the Kogi community, which climbed from 19 to 25 fatalities, including four children, while numerous individuals were hospitalized.
Retired Commodore Jerry Omodara, the Special Adviser on Security to Governor Usman Ododo, stated that the death toll had increased to 21, with more casualties being uncovered continuously.
Atabor said: “We are pleading with the Federal Government to bring to our community a military base that will help us to checkmate the incessant attacks in our communities in Omala LGA.
“Thursday’s attack is the second in less than three months this year alone. The first was on January 29, when four persons were killed by bandits.
“We cannot continue dying like fowl in our own community. Agojeju-Odo is our ancestral home, and we have no other place to go beside it.
“Many of our people are still missing, and we are still discovering more corpses. It’s painful and worrying.
“Government should come to our aid and save us before those bandits, who are sophisticatedly armed to wipe us out of this earth.”