Bandits Strike Again, Kidnap Lawmaker’s Mother, Kill 2 in Niger
- Bandits struck in Niger state on Thursday night and whisked some people away, including the mother of a House of Assembly member, Honourable Bello
- The report has it that the lawmaker has already been contacted by the kidnappers who are allegedly asking for N100m ransom
- The kidnap of the 78-year-old woman came on the same day two people were killed and others kidnapped from Rafi LGA
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Unknown gunmen have reportedly abducted Hajia Salamatu Ahmadu, the 78-year-old mother of a Niger state lawmaker, Alhaji Bello Ahmed Agwara.
ThisDay reports that the elderly woman was abducted at about 9pm on Thursday, April 29.
According to the report, some heavily armed gunmen who came on four motorcycles had stormed the country home of the Niger state House of Assembly member in Agwara town.
Source: Twitter
Eyewitnesses disclosed that the criminals began to shoot sporadically as people scampered for safety.
It was gathered that the armed men made their way to the private residence of the lawmaker where they grabbed his mother and some other villagers to an unknown destination.
This is coming on the heels of the killing of two people and kidnap of several others at Tegina in the Rafi local government also on the same day.
When contacted by ThisDay, a very senior official of the state House of Assembly who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the kidnap of the legislator's mum.
The official stated:
“We have gone to his house in Minna to commiserate with him."
The report has it that the bandits had already made contact with the lawmaker and are demanding a ransom of N100m before the woman would regain her freedom.
All efforts to contact Agwara proved abortive as he was not picking his calls or responding to text messages.
Military, vigilantes repel bandits’ attack
In a related report by Daily Trust, the combined efforts of the military and vigilantes saved another part of town from bandits attack on the same day.
Sarkin Pawa, the headquarters of Munya Local Government Area of Niger State,
It was gathered that bandits invaded Sarkin Pawa, the headquarters of Munya local government area of Niger state, on Thursday afternoon with sophisticated weapons.
They, however, did not succeed as they were repelled by security agents.
Negotiating with Bandits
In an earlier report by Legit.ng, Shehu Sani, a former senator who represented Kaduna Central, had claimed that residents in Niger communities where bandits are said to hold sway have started making negotiations with the criminals for their safety.
The ex-lawmaker expressed fears that this development may mark another phase of the influence of bandits in parts of the state.
Source: Legit.ng
