From John Adams, Minna
For the second time in one month, soldiers suspected to be those providing security to Shiroro Hydro Electricity Dam in Zumba, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State have attacked the men of the special hunters and injured one, including a member of the community.
The men of the special hunters were stationed around communities in Galkogo due to the activates of bandits in the area, and have successfully repelled a number of attacks by the gunmen, including rendering assistance to the soldiers during the invasion of a mining site by bandits at Ajata Aboki, where over 30 of the soldiers were killed last year.
A source close to the Zumba community told Daily Sun that last month, the soldiers were said to have gathered and beaten one of the special hunters to Coma, when he was returning to his base at Galkogo after an operation at Kuchi in Munya local government area.
He was said to have been stopped at a check-point mounted by the soldiers at the Hydro Electricity Dam gate in Zumba and asked him to identify himself, which he did, but the soldiers were said to have thrown a jab at him, wondering why they should allowed themselves to be killed like chickens by bandits.
It was further gathered that the special hunter replied to the soldiers, telling them that they (soldiers) were also being killed like them (special hunters), and this did not go down well with the soldiers who descended on him and beat him to coma.
However, the soldiers, again, on Wednesday, attacked a group of the special hunters in Zumba, accusing them of wearing a red beret cap, which they (soldiers) said was part of their uniform used by the Military Police of the Nigerian Army.
A source said the soldiers abandoned their duty post at the Hydro Dam and followed the men of the special hunters to Zumba town and attacked them, where one of them was injured, while a member of the community was knocked down by the soldiers’ patrol vehicles.
Both the special hunter and the injured member of the community were said to be in critical condition at the Hydro Dam medical facility in Zumba. The incident threw the entire community into panic as they began to run in different directions, mistaking the soldiers for bandits.
When contacted through a WhatsApp message on the latest development, the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Umar, confirmed the incident and said “I’m handling it”.
It was further that the Chairman, Shiroro local government, was said to have waded into the matter and had held a closed door meeting with the warring factions, with a view to securing a permanent solution to the frequent face-off between the two.
Meanwhile, members of the communities have condemned the action of the soldiers who take delight in assaulting the men of the special hunters at will, describing it as a security threat to the community. A member of one of the communities, who spoke to Daily Sun, on condition of anonymity, said the soldiers were acting a script by constantly attacking and harassing those protecting them against bandit’s attacks.
“Is it that they want to force the special hunters to leave the communities, so that the bandits can have access to the people; if not, why are they always attacking them. They usually leave their duty post at the Dam to come and engage these people inside the town. The authorities must caution them, if not, they (soldiers) should be prepared to kill the whole communities, because, without the special hunters, we will not be in our communities by now”.