IBRAHEEM MUHAMMAD
Armed bandits on Monday morning invaded communities in Munya Local Government area of Niger State, setting houses ablaze and kidnapping villagers.
As at the time of filing this report, the bandits were still on the sacking spree of the communities.
The villages already overrun by the bandits include New Kachiwe, Zagzaga and old Kabila in Munya Local Government area of the state.
The bandits, numbering about 100 and riding on motorcycles as well as armed with sophisticated weapons, were also said to be expanding their operations to other villages in the area.
It was not known how many people had been killed or kidnapped because the entire area is still in total confusion with people running for dear life.
According to an eyewitness who spoke to FirstNews on phone, several people had either been killed or trapped in their farms, while many villagers were seen in lories trying to escape the “war zone”.
He said where the people would settle will be another problem because there is no Internally Displaced Persons’ camp in the area.
The affected communities are just five kilometers from Sarkin-Pawa, the headquarters of the local government where security men were stationed but the eyewitness said there had been no action from the security agents.
He said that the local vigilantes who tried to repel the bandits were overwhelmed by the number of the bandits and their superior fire power; “so they had to retreat”.
It was further gathered that in the absence of regular security operatives, the local government had sought the assistance of local vigilantes from a nearby local government.
It was gathered that the ultimate aim of the bandits was to settle in the already conquered villages.
When contacted, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Matane, confirmed the incident, but said, “It is just happening so I cannot give you any detail”.
Matane, however, said government and the security agencies would take actions that will lead to the bandits being sacked from the areas already overtaken over.
He, however, observed that the armed men could have infiltrated the area from Kaduna and Zamfara states that Niger shares boundaries with, in the axis.