Again, Bandits Strike, Kidnap 32 in Niger, Kwara Communities
Barely one week after gunmen attacked communities in Mariga local government of Niger state some bandits have again raided three communities in the same local government.
The bandits said to have been riding three on each motorcycle numbering well over three hundred and armed with AK 47 rifles struck on Monday night wrecking havoc and sacking the villagers in Gulbinboka, Kakihun and Kumbashi.
Similarly, panic has again gripped residents of Babanla community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the Kwara state as suspected bandits abduct two teenage girls while the monarch’s wife of the town nearly escaped abduction on Monday night.
Eyewitnesses told the press that the bandits in Niger kidnapped no fewer than 30 of the villagers and killed unknown number.
In addition, according to the report, a secondary school was burnt at Kakihun while a security operation vehicle was also set ablaze at Kumbashi.
According to the findings, the attack has now led to people migrating from the affected communities to Kontagora.
It was gathered that after last week’s attacks the gunmen, who were staying at Kango village, contacted the villagers to supply them with petroleum motor spirit (PMS) in exchange for those kidnapped.
“They asked for 10 Jerry cans of petrol for the release of 10 kidnap victims” the source said.
The North Central Zone Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Yahaya Ability, confirmed the story to the press in a telephone interview saying” this morning ( Tuesday) around 3.00 a.m people called me from the village asking for help”
“They say they are again being attacked their property are being looted” Yahaya Ability said before pleading with the state government to come to the rescue of the villagers.
The State Commissioner for Homeland Security Major General Garba Bello Abdullahi could not be reached for confirmation of the story.
Meanwhile, panic has again gripped residents of Babanla community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the Kwara state as suspected bandits abduct two teenage girls while the monarch wife of the town nearly escaped abduction on Monday night.
The victims, identified as Aisha Yahaya and Mariam Yusuf, aged between 16 and 17, were reportedly kidnapped around 8:30 p.m. on Monday night when the gunmen stormed the community on motorcycles and began shooting sporadically into the air.
The incident, it was gathered, has caused tension in the ancient town among the residents and also led to the purported relocation of some of the residents to the neighbouring towns for fear of being kidnapped by the suspected bandits.
This latest violent attack by the suspected bandits in Babanla town in Ifelodun Local Government Council of the state was a follow-up to the kidnapping of a businessman in Lafiagi town in Edu Local Government Council of the state on Sunday in the town.
The abduction of the businessman and other victims in the town led to the protest embarked upon by the irate youths of Lafiagi town on Monday to kick against the unending kidnapping cases in the town.
The protest has led to the vandalismn of some parts of the Emir’s Palace at Lafiagi town and the office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) in Lafiagi.
Normalcy has since returned to the town following the quick deployment of security agencies into the Lafiagi town.
However, another bandits attack was reportedly happened on Monday night around 8.30p.m at Babanla community in Ifelodun local government council area of the state when some suspected bandits arrived the town and took away two teenage girls in the town
Eyewitnesses, who spoke to the press yesterday in Ilorin confirmed that the attackers had made an initial attempt to abduct the wife of the traditional ruler of the town but she narrowly escaped.
Following the ugly development, it was learnt that, local hunters were said to have been mobilised and pursued the bandits into the surrounding forest.
The development, it was further gathered, led to the exchange of gunfire between the bandits and the local hunters.
Some of the residents of the town under the aegis of Concerned Indigenes of Babanla community, who spoke with newsmen lamented the deteriorating security situation, calling on government authorities and security agencies to urgently intervene.
All calls made to the telephone number of the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, for comment on the incident proved abortive.
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