Trader shot dead, others flee as bandits attack market in Niger

Uneasy calm now reigns at Chibani community in Munya Local Government Area of Niger State following an attack on a rural market on Friday in the afternoon by gunmen suspected to be armed bandits. The attack led to the killing of one trader while several others were allegedly abducted at gunpoint and taken away into the forest.

After the attack on Chibani market, terrorists also reportedly invaded Mararaban-Daudu community, also in Munya Local Government where an unspecified number of residents were kidnapped.

A source in the area, who identified himself as Shehu Abubakar informed our correspondent in an interview by telephone that the miscreants launched the attack around 12 noon when the market was filled to capacity,  and carried out the operation for about three hours, shooting sporadically into the air to force traders to abandon their wares.

Tribune Online further learnt that during the ensuing melee in the market that the suspected armed bandits carted away some food items after scaring traders away.

The source added that right now “we don’t know where many traders are hiding presently because they have not started retuning up till now”, stressing that a lot of goods were destroyed apart from the ones stolen by the hoodlums. 

Tribune Online gathered that up till about 5pm on Friday, the traders had not gone back to the market to pick their goods. 

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Further checks revealed that in the past one week, bandits were said to have resorted to burgling commercial stalls and stealing foodstuffs from rural communities in parts of the state.

Specifically, it was further gathered that between last Monday and Tuesday, several shops were said to have been burgled in Zazzaga, a community in Munya Local Government Area of the state where foodstuffs valued at several thousands of naira were allegedly stolen in large quantities.

Abubakar however noted that one person was killed and his body was taken to police station at Sarkin Pawa, in the headquarters of Munya Local Government Council.

But a security source told Tribune Online that prior to the arrival of security operatives at the market on the fateful day, the bandits had fled.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the State Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Internal Security, Mr Emmanuel Umar confirmed the incident, adding that the attack by the bandits in the market at Chinabi also occurred in some other communities in the local government area on Friday after which some security operatives were deployed to the affected communities by the state government in collaboration with the heads of some Security Agencies in the state.

The commissioner however noted that in view of the fact that the bandits were very mobile, the security operatives could not catch up with them, adding that the hoodlums had taken to their heels before the arrivals of the security operatives that were deployed to the troubled communities.

Umar said that the situation has since been brought under control in Munya LGA of the state adding that the community people have been urged to report any suspicious movements to the community leaders and the security operatives that were deployed to maintain peace in the council areas and its environs.