Gunmen wreak havoc in Niger community

Gunmen suspected to be terrorists in their large numbers have continued to lay siege on the hapless people of Niger State, especially the citizens who are residents in the rural communities of the state that share borders with the neighbouring Zamfara and Kaduna states.

One of such violent attacks was allegedly said to have occurred in the Shadadi community of Mariga local government area of the state.

Tribune Online gathered that suspected terrorists in their yet unascertained numbers and armed with sophisticated weapons invaded the community in the early hours of Monday, July 25, 2022, and abducted no fewer than 15 persons, most of whom were said to be women and children.

A resident of the community, Danlami Shadadi who confirmed the unfortunate incident, told our reporter in an interview by telephone on Wednesday in Minna, that gunmen suspected to be insurgent groups invaded Shadadi, and abducted some married women including nursing mothers and underaged children in their numbers.

Similarly in a separate interview, the Executive Chairman, Mariga Local Government Council, Hon. Abbas Kasuwan Garba, who also confirmed the attack, noted that his administration had engaged the services of local hunters that would storm the forest and rescue the victims from the captivity of their abductors in their criminal hideouts inside the forest.

Also in a related development, the authorities of the State Police Command have said that it would investigate the attacks when contacted by reporters on the incident.

However, the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Police Command, CP Monday Bala Kuryas said that the command was yet to confirm the attack.

“According to him, I heard about the attack but officially, I have not confirmed it”, Kuryas said.

In another development, the State Police Command has said that the command has nabbed a notorious armed bandit, Bashir Abdullahi, from the Bangi community of Mariga local government area of the state who was said to have specialised in the abductions and killing of his victims after ransom was allegedly paid to him.

The Commissioner of Police, Monday Bala Kuryas, explained that Bashir was a notorious bandit before his arrest, highlighting further that apart from banditry activity, the suspect was also an informant.

The Police Boss stated further that during interrogation, Bashir had confessed that he was a bandit, and had kidnapped and killed his victims.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

‘39.6 percent of unmarried university students use sexual performance-enhancing drugs’

EXPERTS say that the use of sexual performance-enhancing drugs is an emerging public health issue that requires a university-wide health advocacy campaign to stop among unmarried students in Nigerian universities…Gunmen wreak havoc on