John Adams, Minna
Barely one week after armed bandits abducted a local government speaker, a cashier and 23 others in two separate attackers, the bandits have struck again, killing a mobile policeman and injured another in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.
No fewer than 13 people were also abducted during the invasion by the bandits.
It was gathered that the mobile policemen were on routine patrol around the cattle market in Mariga when they were ambushed by the bandits and, in the ensued shootout, the mobile policeman was killed.
However, the injured policeman is now receiving treatment at the Minna General Hospital where he was rushed to after the incident.
The latest development came only about 12 hours after bandits kidnapped seven people in Shamuyanbu village in Kusherki District of Rafi Local Government Area of the state.
Four of those kidnapped are women – Maryam Usman, Safiya Bagobiri,Salamatu Hassan and Safiya Bagobiri. Three men were also kidnapped with them – Yunusa Malam, Kabiru Shamuyanbu and Abdulkarim Musa.
The locals disclosed that the bandits, in their usual way, invaded the town on motorcycles and shot sporadically to instill fear into the villagers.
“They forced their victims on the motorcycles with the bandits riding and another behind the victims and sped away.
“They are yet to get to the relations of the victims,” a source close to the village said.
Police public relations officer in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached to confirm the incident.
Bandits ran riot last week in Munya and Rafi local government areas, kidnapping not less than 25 people.
The cashier of Munya Local Government Area, Mr Jonathan Cashier, and the speaker of the legislative arm of the council, Malam Musa Alhassan, were among those abducted while, in Rafi, Salisu Buhari was killed by the bandits.