John Adams, Minna
Armed banditry in Niger State is taking a different dimension with the latest attack coming from Kokoki community in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state where over 200 people have fled their homes following midnight raid by gunmen.
Although no casualty was recorded in this latest attack, no fewer than six people, all male, were taken way by the armed invaders.
A community source told our correspondent that the bandits, who stormed the community in commando style in the early hour of Monday, ransacked every house, dispossessing the occupants of their valuables.
The bandits, numbering about 200, arrived the community in about 50 motorcycles and divided themselves into groups as they moved from one settlement to another. They shot sporadically into the air, asking the residents to surrender their money and other belongings in the operation said to have lasted over three hours.
The latest attack is coming barely two months after a similar invasion of some villages in the same Shiroro LGA left about 70 people dead and over 100 people injured while about 800 cattle were rustled.
The affected villages are Kwaki, Barden Dawaki, Ajatawyi, Gwassa, Ajayin Bataro, Bwailo, Baton and Gigi.
Meanwhile, about 120 people mostly women and children, who escaped the Monday night attack, are currently taking refuge in Ahmad Attahiru secondary school and Lafene primary school in neighboring Kagara, in Rafi Local Government Area of the state.
Women and children were seen crossing a stream to a safe zone in Kagara town where they are currently taking refuge.
The villagers were said to have escaped without taking any property along while the women were seen with their little children.
When contacted, the Director General of the state Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Inga, confirmed the incident describing it “as unfortunate.” He added saying that the “local government is handling the matter.”
The Niger State Police Command also confirmed the story. The police public relations officer in the state, Muhammad Abubakar, said: “We have an incident like that in that area.
The police are reviewing the security architecture of communities in the hinterland because it appears they are prone to this type of security breach.”
The police spokesman said the police are not aware of anyone being kidnapped but assured that the bandits would be arrested.