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John Adams, Minna
Barely one week after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered airstrikes on bandits’ locations in Niger State, gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed one person while three others were seriously injured.
Also no fewer than 20 others were kidnapped in the raid in communities in Borgu Local Government Area of the state.
The imam of the Emir of Borgu palace mosque simply called Malam Habibu was among those kidnapped.
The attack which occurred at about 5:30 pm on Saturday last week was the first of such invasion in the area, since the bandits launched an onslaught across communities in the state.
The bandits who were said to be many in number, invaded the communities in motorcycles, and were carrying sophisticated guns, cutlasses, and knives.
“They blocked the road from Ibbi to New Bussa and attacked the villagers going and coming from the markets in both communities” an eyewitness told our correspondent
The bandits shot sporadically, killing one person and kidnapping 20 others, and three others were injured in the stampede that followed.
A source close to one of the communities who confided in our correspondent, disclosed that “we did not know that the imam was among those kidnapped until on Sunday morning when they (kidnappers) called the emir and asked for the payment of N20m for the release of the imam.
It was gathered that the bandits could have raided the areas from the National Park forests at Wawa.
It was also learnt that about 14 of the same set of bandits rode through the New Bussa town on Sunday but did not kidnap anyone.
The situation forced the emir, Alhaji Mohammed Haliru Dantoro on Monday to summoned an emergency security meeting of all security chiefs in the area on how to secure the release of those kidnapped with a similar meeting slated for Tuesday with all district and village heads.
As of Monday, the area was said to be quiet and peaceful.
