From John Adams Minna
Bandits in their numbers on Tuesday night invaded Zagzaga community in Munya local government area of Niger state and shot dead, the village head, Mallam Usman Tukura in his house.
The Bandits who raided the entire community in an operation our source said, lasted over two hours, also went away with no fewer than 15 members of the community.
According to the Youth leader in the community, Mallam Yahuza Mohammed who confirmed the latest attack to our correspondent on telephone in Minna on Wednesday, said those abducted are mostly women and children.
He disclosed that the gunmen arrived the community at about 11:00pm when the people had just returned to the bed, stressing that “they went from house to house waking people up and dispossessing them of their money and other belongings”.
He pointed out that on like previous attacks where the gunmen will announced their arrival through sporadical shooting into the air, the Tuesday attacks took the community unaware as they (Bandits) entered the community quietly and raided shops before attacking people in their houses.
The youth leader further disclosed that the village head was shot and killed when came out of his house to plead with the gunmen to live the people alone, adding “they immediately shot him in the chest and died on the spot”
Yahuza said the Tuesday night attack is the fifth in the last four months, stressing that in the last four attacks before Tuesday, the gunmen usually meet empty houses as the people always escaped into the bush before their arrival.
However this attack is coming barely two weeks after some gunmen abducted about 30 people from a neighboring communities of Igu Tsauni, Shapai and its surrounding villages along Mangoro in the same Munya local government area.
Three of the captives however escaped to safety during a heavy down pour, leaving 27 still being help by the Bandits who are demanding for N1million each for their release.
In addition to this, the entire neighboring Tshohon Kabula community that was sacked by the gunmen two months ago remained deserted as the people have refused to return back to their community.
All attempt to get the Chairman of Munya local government council, Hon. Najume A. Aminu to confirm the latest attack could not yield any result as his mobile phone line was not going through.