John Adams, Minna
Worried by the spate of kidnapping and other acts of banditry in some communities in Munya and Shiroro local government areas, the Niger State government has deployed over 150 security personnel to the affected areas to safeguard lives and property.
About 15 communities in the two local government councils have been under siege by armed bandits who have made lives miserable for the people.
Over 30 people, mostly farmers have been kidnapped in the area in recent time and ransom worth N50million paid by the poor villagers to secure the release of their loved ones.
Ten people have also lost their lives to the bandits, while about 200 cattle were rustled.
The armed bandits were believed to be among those chased out of Zamfara State due to the military operations going on there; they have found a safe haven in the communities.
The Secretary of Munya local government, Aliyu Dogo, who disclosed this to newsmen at the weekend, said the activities of the bandits had made it difficult for farmers to harvest their farm produce.
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Dogo pointed out that before the influx of the bandits, people in Sarikin Pawa, had being going about their normal businesses with no fear of molestation. “But when these bandits chased from Zamfara State came to stay in our forest, life has not been what it used to be; the communities are under siege.
“The bandits from Zamfara State have been terrorising villages in these local governments. When the situation becoming unbearable, we decided to alert the state government which responded promptly by deploying security operatives comprising the military, police and vigilance groups to deal with the situation,” he explained.
According to him, “the state government’s intervention has helped a lot in reducing the menace as the security personnel deployed in the affected areas have not given them a breathing space to carry out their acts”
He, however, disclosed that despite the security challenges in the area, the local government had continued to carry out some development programmes within the council since the state government was not folding its arms over the situation.