No fewer than 19 people have been kidnapped by gunmen in Ogu and Tegina communities in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
Ogu is a settlement close to Wayam about two kilometres away from Kagara, headquarters of Rafi Local Government Council of the State.
A senior aide to the Executive Chairman, Rafi Local Government who craved for anonymity in a brief interview by telephone with our reporter, on Monday, in Minna confirmed the incident.
The source, however, could not ascertain details on the attacks and had to place a telephone call to a resident in the affected community for more information.
In one of the phone calls by the aide, in which he spoke with one Kamal Mamman Wayam from Ogu community, it was gathered that the unidentified gunmen had laid siege Ogu, on Sunday morning, and they started shooting into the air with the view to send fears to the people.
“The gunmen in their large numbers had arrived Ogu on their Operational Motorcycles. Before we knew and in a twinkle of an eye, they started shooting into the air. They ransacked people’s houses, and forcefully take away every imaginable valuable item including unspecified sums of money that they could lay their hands on.
“They also abducted six persons from Ogu. while four of the abducted victims were members of one family, while the other two were visitors to the community,” he added.
Further checks by Tribune Online gathered that the attack on Tegina was said to have happened at about 12:30 am on Monday.
A resident of the community, who identified himself as Sani Gamachindo whose phone conversation with our source was recorded said about 13 persons were also abducted.
“The gunmen entered the room of my daughter that night. But, she hides under the bed, while her husband went up to the ceiling.
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“When the gunmen entered their room, they spent like 30 minutes and ate almost all the cooked food in the kitchen. Thank God, they were not abducted. But, 13 persons were kidnapped,” Gamachindo narrated.
The latest attacks in Rafi local government came barely five days after some unidentified gunmen abducted a youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the District Head of Gunna and two children of two health workers in Garin Gabbas and Yakila communities in the same local government.
Last Friday, the suspected bandits had also blocked the major road between Zungeru and Tegina and laid siege on the road for several hours, shooting and causing a traffic jam.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, ASP Wasiu Abiodun, promised to call back for confirmation of the matter but was unable to keep his promise as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, a Pastor with the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) was reportedly killed by gunmen in Chukuba, Shiroro Local Government Area of the State.
The Cleric, identified as Pastor Jeremiah Ibrahim, was said to be serving with ECWA Gospel Kubwa, Kuta in Shiroro Local Government.
According to a senior official at ECWA Goodnews Church, Minna who pleaded not to be quoted in the prints because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, the slain Pastor Ibrahim had gone to check his farm in Chukuba and decided to visit a colleague who was the resident Pastor of Chukuba Parish of the Church when he was allegedly attacked and killed by the gunmen.
“It’s quite unfortunate because the assassination of Pastor Jeremiah Ibrahim is coming barely two weeks after six of our missionaries alongside the wife of one of them were abducted,” the source added.
Suspected bandits abduct 19 people, kill clergyman in Niger