John Adams, Minna
Armed bandits on Sunday evening attacked some communities in Shiroro local government of Niger State killing three people.
The bandits also reportedly kidnapped six others and rustled not less than 1,200 heads of cattle in the incident that occurred last week.
The communities that came under attack are Beri Kargo, Kini, Anguwan Makaranta and Shema.
The bandits were said to have operated under the cover of darkness to invade the communities, shooting sporadically into the air to scare the villagers.
The bandits were said to have avoided areas where military operations were ongoing, to escape arrest.
The police, when contacted, did not react to the incident but our correspondent gathered that the state government had despatched officials of the State Emergency Management Agency to the local government to distribute some relief materials to the victims.
The Director-General of Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) Alhaji Ibrahim Inga, when contacted said: “We have a marching order from Mr Governor to provide relief materials to the victims.”
He said three Internally Displaced Persons’ camps had been set up at Jigiwa, Gurmana and Allawa, each accommodating no less than 1,000 displaced people.
Inga who declined to comment on the casualty figure, said the items distributed to the IDPs on Monday included 80 bags of rice, 50 bags of maize and 15 bags of beans, 60 cartons of Macaroni, and 150 cartons of noodles.
Other items were that were given to the IDps included five packets of tablespoons, 150 mosquito nets, 10 cartons of seasoning cubes, one bundle of mats, and blankets each, and some bags of salt among others.
The village head of Kuta Yanmah, Alhaji Yusuf Abdullahi, speaking on behalf of the IDPs expressed gratitude to the state government for the gesture, but pleaded with the government to improve security in the area.