From John Adams, Minna
As fears and anxiety grip the people of Niger state following the abduction of the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mallam Mohammed Sani Idris from his residence on Sunday by gunmen, local government Chairmen and other political appointees have abandoned their locality for fear of being kidnapped.
The Daily Sun gathered that apart from the Chairmen of few local government areas of Chanchaga, Suleja, Bida, Kontagora, Mokwa, Borgu and Agwara, every other Chairmen have relocated to Minna, the state capital.
The affected Chairmen now administered their council from Minna with only occasional visit to the headquarters of the councils as there is no end to the Banditry activities in the state.
The mass exodus from the local localities also includes some prominent political appointees and top government officials.
The recent onslaught by the gunmen saw the abduction of the Commissioner for Information and All Progressive Congress (APC) zonal Chairman within five days, and are still being held by their abductors due to the government stance of no negotiation with bandits.
Apart from the Chairmen and other political appointees, contractors handling roads and other projects in the villages have equally abandoned sites for fear of being kidnapped or even killed.
An expatriate with a construction company handling a road project along Minna-Zungeru road was abducted and killed along three soldiers when they (soldiers) tried to rescue him.
The incident came barely four months after gunmen abducted three staff of another construction company alongside a staff of the ministry of works and infrastructure development from site in Erena, Shiroro local government area of the state.
None of the local communities Chairmen was ready to comment on this development when contacted but a senior government official who did not want his name in print, told our correspondent that the security situation has gone out of control of the government, hence the need for everyone, especially political appointees to seek personal protection.
“You can not blame anybody for looking for a place to hide his head. Everyone knows that the security situation has gone out of control of everybody, including the government, so we have surrender of faith to God for protection but before then we need to take caution.
“Nobody can contest the fact that our villages are no longer safe. The Kidnapping of the honorable Commissioner on Sunday is an eye opener that nobody is safe any longer, that is the reality,” he said.
But a former Commissioner for Information and Culture and Chieftain of All Progressive Congress in the state, Jonathan Vatsa in his reaction said he did not blame anybody including the Chairmen and other political appointees for relocating from their localities because the whole security situation Is taking a dangerous dimension.