John Adams, Minna
Dare-devils armed bandits numbering about 30 in the early hours of Sunday invaded some communities in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, killing nine persons and kidnapping 15 others.
Eleven members of the communities who sustained various degrees of injuries from the attack are currently receiving treatment in hospital.
The affected villages were Badna, Malfa, Tunga and other surrounding communities in Kurebe and Kwaki wards of Shiroro local government.
This latest attack is coming barely 24 hours after the senator representing Kaduna Central at the National Assembly, Shehu Sani, told journalists of similar incident which claimed the lives of a military officer and 21 villagers in Brinin Gwari which share borders with the affected communities.
The victims of the Sunday incident were mostly women and girls, several of them were raped during the invasion.
Reacting to this development, the senator representing the area (Niger East), Senator David Umoru, in a statement in Minna on Monday described as cruel, the massacre of the innocent villagers.
“I am particularly saddened and shocked at the cruel massacre of nine people who were my constituents and the kidnap of 15 innocent people.
“It is painful to note that this incident which occurred not more than 36 hours ago is just one amongst several other brazen attacks that have been carried out in the area in recent times.”
Senator Umoru disclosed that the attack was coming four days after similar attack in which a woman and her daughter were kidnapped and a prince abducted at Kwararamai community.
“Also, in a related incident, 3 persons were killed while three were abducted in Malfa. Villages like Kwararamai, Jankuta and Marraraban Bataro where 17 persons were abducted in one night have all suffered the same fate.
“These incidents which are still very fresh in our memories are quick reminders of the present reality in this area – that lives and properties of the inhabitants of these communities are no longer safe.”
The senator, therefore, appealed to the state Commissioner of Police and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1st Division Kaduna, to deploy sufficient personnel to the hot spots particularly in surrounding villages.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Niger State command, DSP Abubakar Mohammed, said the police were aware of a kidnapping incident in the area but however said nobody was killed.