Niger community deserted as gunmen abduct district head

From John Adams, Minna

Three weeks after armed bandits abducted the district head of Yakila in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulamid, the community has been deserted. 

Some members of the community are also said to have relocated from the community to nearby communities for fear of further attacks.

During the invasion by the bandits three weeks ago, the district head, APC ward leader and a staff nurse at Garin-gabas whose name was given as Halima as well as her two children were kidnapped, and have remained in the custody of their captors since then.

However, when the Governor Abubakar Sani Bello paid a sympathy visit to the area yesterday, he met a deserted and almost lifeless community as virtually all the shops were closed and business centres locked. Most traders who used to display their wares along the road and other major streets in the area were completely absent. One of the community leaders, who briefed the governor, said: “The last time they made contact with us was two weeks ago but they did not ask for anything.”

Addressing some members of the community in the kidnapped district head’s palace, Bello told them that the government has intelligence report that the bandits have informants among the people, adding that the report was reinforced by the fact that less than 24 hours after the kidnapped district head held a meeting designed to set up a local security outfit for the community, the bandits struck.