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From John Adams, Minna
With barely 24 hours after the abducted students of Government Science College Kagara in Rafi local government area of Niger state were set free by their abductors, no fewer than seven students of Government Technical College, Pandogeri in the same Rafi local government have been abducted by armed bandits.
The students were abducted on Saturday afternoon at about 2:00pm when they were said to be playing football around the school.
Although the state government has ordered the closure of all boarding schools across the four local government areas under attacks from bandits, including Rafi local government, the day schools were not affected.
There is no official confirmation from the government yet on this latest abduction, source close to the community said there is atmosphere of disquiet among the people over this latest attacks.
Pandogeri town where this new set of students were abducted is about 20 kilometers from Kagara where those 28 students of Science College who regained their freedom on Saturday were kidnapped.
However few hours after the seven students were abducted and taken into the bush, some villages within the same Rafi local government have come under serious attacks, with five killed and unspecified number of others kidnapped in Saturday night operations.
In Maikunjeri village under Cikin Ward said to be heavy populated by Fulanis, four people were killed and many, including women abducted. Over 100 cattle were rustled by the bandits.
The bandits who are said to be a different group from those that kidnapped the seven students, invaded Maikunjeri in their large number and began a show of force by shooting into the air to scare the people .
While that operation was on, another set of bandits, also in the numbers took over Kundu village, in Gunna Ward in the same Rafi local government area and unleashed terror on the people.
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It could be recalled that three weeks ago, 42 passengers on board of the state transport authority were abducted in the same Kundu but later regained their freedom after eight days in captivity.
Although nobody was killed in the Kundu invasion, shops and food items were freely looted by the bandits before moving to a settlement called Gidan Adamu in Yekila District. One person was killed and 13 people, mostly women were abducted.
A source close to the village claimed to have raised the alarm over planned invasion by the bandits, no action was taken.
Also at Rubo village in Madaka Ward of the same Rafi local government, the bandits kidnapped the Chief Iman and a number of others.
In another development, armed bandits for first time, stroked in Katcha community in Katcha local government of the state and abducted three people, a girl and two men in the early hours of Sunday.
According to a source from Katcha, the bandits mainly targeted shop owners especially beer parlor operators in the outskirts of the town.
The bandits were said to have invaded the town at about 1am and operated for three hours unchallenged before taken away their victims.
The Chairman of Katcha local government, Alhaji Mohammad Baba Nna confirmation the incident in a telephone interview saying that “the incident happen around 1am and lasted for three good hours, they went away with three persons who are business men in the town and we are yet to hear from them.
“They came with very sophisticated weapons and I am sure that’s why the Police men were afraid to come to their rescue during the incident” he stated.
