From John Adams, Minna
A pregnant woman (name withheld) has been confirmed dead in Dnakundna village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State after she was gangraped by bandits.
The diseased woman was among the numerous villagers who were fleeing the village following threats of attacks by the bandits as a result of their (villagers) inability to pay the N2 million levy imposed on them by the bandits to allow them harvest their farm produce.
The deceased family source, who spoke to Daily Sun in Minna, yesterday, said the latest incident occurred last Thursday morning, 24 hours to the expiration of an ultimatum said to have been given to the villagers by the bandits to pay the N2 million levy or risk a possible attack.
The villagers, especially women and children, in their numbers, decided to leave the village when they could not raise the N2 million levy, unknown to them that the bandits had already been informed of their mass exodus and decided to lay ambush.
The deceased mother of three was not lucky as she and her three children ran into the ambush, and was matched into the bush, gangraped by seven of the bandits before abandoning her.
She was later picked up by the family members with bruises all over her body and rushed to the hospital where she died on Friday night.
It was further gathered that scores of the villagers were abducted by the bandits during the invasion, even as the mass exodus continued with women and children leaving the village.
Although it was reliably gathered the bandits group leaders, Dogo Jede and Jackbros, were said to have left the areas due to the recent joint security operations, their “Boys” are still within the communities unleashing terror on the people.
They have continued to levy the people from one village to another demanding huge sums of money as conditions to allow them to harvest their farm produce.