JUST IN: Armed bandits kidnap 30 villagers in Niger state community
- More reports of abductions are still emanating from Niger state
- A recent report from one of the villages in the state indicates that 30 villagers have been forcefully taken away by armed bandits
- The terrorists have laid siege on the north-central state for months culminating in massive kidnappings, attacks, and deaths
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A report by ThisDay indicates that no fewer than 30 villagers were on Monday, March 8 kidnapped in Kutunku village in Wushishi local government area of Niger state.
A source quoted in the report said that the heavily armed bandits stormed the village on foot and rounded up the villagers.
The terrorists were said to have hidden their motorcycles in an orchard close to the village and from there trekked to the community, a development that did not arouse the suspicion of the villagers until it was late.
The source said those kidnapped included 12 men and nine females from the Gbagyi tribe, nine Fulanis, and one person of another tribe.
Source: Twitter
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One of the women abducted, according to the source, is billed to be married this weekend.
A senior local government official in the area said a report was made to the Divisional Police Officer in Zungeru over the incident.
The chairman of Rafi local government, Alhaji Ismaila Modibo Kagara, when contacted, confirmed the incident but said it happened at Kutunku village in Wushishi.
The incident comes a few days after a community in Zamfara state resisted an attack by bandits in their domain.
Reports from the northwest state indicate that villagers in Ruwan Tofa community resisted and killed some of the bandits, who attacked them on Thursday, March 5.
Meanwhile, a coalition of 15 northern-based civil society organisations on Wednesday, March 3 accused some northern governors of turning the rising cases of kidnapping and banditry in the region into money-spinning ventures.
The groups under the umbrella of Non-State Actors Consultative Forum made the accusation at a press briefing in Kano state.
Speaking at the briefing, the co-convener of the coalition, Mr. Ibrahim Waiya, alleged that political actors in north Nigeria have devised a new strategy to swindling public resources through negotiation with bandits.
Jerrywright Ukwu is an Abuja-based senior political/defence correspondent at Legit.ng. He is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos and the International Institute of Journalism in Abuja. He is also a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. He spends his leisure-time reading history books. He can be reached via email at jerrywright39@yahoo.com.
Source: Legit.ng
