Suspected gunmen launched a coordinated attack on the Divisional Police Headquarters in Ipele community, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Wednesday night, causing significant destruction and spreading fresh panic among residents. The incident, reportedly occurring around 9:40 PM to 10:00 PM, involved an estimated 20 to 30 armed assailants who stormed the police facility with gunfire and explosives, subsequently setting parts of it ablaze.

Eyewitnesses recounted a terrifying scene as the gunmen opened fire indiscriminately before igniting the police station. The attack resulted in the complete destruction of the police station building and several exhibits housed within. Additionally, four police patrol vehicles and approximately 15 motorcycles kept on the premises were burnt. Residents described being overwhelmed by the sounds of the attack, forcing many to flee their homes and seek refuge in nearby bushes for fear of being harmed. One resident reported that the heavily armed attackers managed to overwhelm police personnel on duty for over an hour before eventually fleeing the scene.

The Ondo State Police Command swiftly reacted to the incident, condemning the assault on its Ipele Divisional Police Headquarters. In a statement released by its Spokesperson, Jimoh Abayomi, the police confirmed preliminary reports indicating that a group of armed men, numbering between 20 and 30, invaded the station at approximately 9:41 p.m., deploying assault rifles and dynamite. The statement clarified that while the attackers set the station ablaze, leading to the destruction of the building and several exhibits, no lives were lost in the attack as of the time of the report. The police also specifically debunked rumors that any church was involved in the attack.

Following the report, a joint patrol comprising personnel from the Police, Military, Civil Defence, and other non-state actors was promptly mobilized to the scene, though the attackers had already departed. Commissioner of Police for the State, Adebowale Lawal, denounced the attack as "a tragic and reprehensible act against the peace and security of Ondo State." He urged the public to remain calm and assured them that the situation was firmly under control. Commissioner Lawal also ordered the immediate deployment of additional operational assets, including Tactical Teams, Explosive Ordnance Disposal–Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) units, and Police Mobile Force personnel to the area, initiating a coordinated manhunt for the perpetrators.

This incident marks a concerning trend, coming barely a week after US-coordinated airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in Sokoto State and other parts of the North. It also follows a Christmas Eve attack on a Mosque in Borno State, which left five people dead and 35 injured, underscoring the persistent capacity of these groups to strike across the country. Alarmingly, Wednesday's attack in Ipele is the second such incident in the Owo Local Government Area, recalling the devastating June 5, 2022, mass shooting and bomb attack on a Catholic Church in Owo, which resulted in numerous casualties and injuries.