Bandits Attack Communities, Kill Eight People in Niger

Bandits Attack Communities, Kill Eight People in Niger

Laleye Dipo in Minna

No fewer than eight villagers were killed when bandits raided Kaure and Kwaki communities in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

It was gathered that the bandits carried out the massacre yesterday morning.

The invaders were said to have shot sporadically into the air, forcing the villagers to run for their safety.

THISDAY gathered that some of those killed were hit by stray bullets while others lost their lives in point-blank attacks.

The bandits were said to have stormed the community on motorcycles with three persons on each of the bikes at about 7 a.m., shooting sporadically into the air, according to an eyewitness.

A local government councillor in one of the wards, Jafaru Kwaki, told reporters on phone that :”I just received the sad development of an invasion again of a community in my area by armed men dressed in black.

“In their characteristic manner, they stormed the community on motorcycles shooting at any object,” Kwaki said, adding that he was informed that eight corpses had been retrieved after the bandits disappeared.

He could not say how many villagers were injured.

Kwaki said the bandits rustled several heads of cattle and dispossessed the villagers of cash and food stuffs at gunpoint.

“They burnt two vehicles, five motorcycles and some houses during the attack,” he said, adding that some villagers were said to be missing.

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency confirmed the incident but not the number of people killed

The Director General of the agency, Ibrahim Inga, said in a telephone interview that officials had been dispatched to the communities to ascertain the true position of things.

The Police were yet to make any comment on the issue as at press time. Three weeks ago, the district and village heads of the district, secretary of the district council, wife of the district head and four others were kidnapped by bandits.

It could not be confirmed if they have regained their freedoms.

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