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From John Adams, Minna
Three soldiers and four local vigilantes were ambushed and killed at Kwanan Dutse in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State when they had gone on patrol of the area. Four villagers were also killed, reports say.
A source close to the vigilantes in Mariga told our correspondent via telephone that four of their men and three soldiers were killed during the area patrol by gunmen numbering about 50.
Several others were injured during the attack, the second incident in the area in the last two weeks. The gunmen had in two weeks ago, in similar circumstances, killed three policemen and injured others.
In Ishau community in Paikoro Local Government Area, about four people were said to have been killed by the gunmen on Monday when they invaded some communities in the area.
Six communities, namely Ishau, Kuna, Amale, Adunu, Kudami and Beni came under heavy attack from the gunmen, leaving hundreds of villagers to flee to neighboring communities.
Among those killed in Adunu was a 20-year-old man who was shot at a close range while returning to the village with his motorcycle after dropping passengers at Kafin Koro.
At Beni, a woman was shot on her legs when the gunmen indiscriminately shot at the people. She is said to be receiving treatment at the Kafin Koro hospital
All attempts to confirm the latest attack from the Chairman of Paikoro local government, Mallam Yohana Yakubu, were unsuccessful as he was not picking his calls, but a reliable source close to the community told our correspondent that the gunmen were about 100 in number, adding that ‘they were all fully armed with sophisticated weapons.’
According to our source, the local vigilantes of the Joint Security Task Force put up a brave fight against the gunmen killing a number of them and forcing them (gunmen) to quickly relocate from the community.
Just last month, the gunmen and the local vigilantes in the area had engaged in a fierce gun battle, leading to the killing of scores of the gunmen while several others were injured.
The latest attack has swelled the numbers of Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Kafin Koro with available schools converted to camps.
