The Niger State Police Command has confirmed a series of deadly attacks by suspected bandits on communities in Agwarra and Borgu Local Government Areas of the state, resulting in the death of no fewer than 42 persons and the abduction of an unconfirmed number of residents, including children.
Confirming the incidents, Wasiu Abiodun, the Police Public Relations Officer, said the command received distress reports at about 9:00 p.m. on Saturday that armed bandits had invaded several communities, killing over 30 people and abducting many others.
“In one of the attacks, at about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, suspected bandits from the National Park forest along Kabe District invaded Kasuwan Daji, located at Demo Village via Kabe. They killed over 30 persons, burnt down the market, looted shops and carted away food items,” Abiodun stated.
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He added that a joint security team has since visited the affected areas, while efforts are ongoing to rescue the abducted victims and restore normalcy.
Residents, however, said the attacks had been ongoing for over a week, particularly in Agwarra communities, with little or no security presence. A local source disclosed that at least 37 people were killed in Kasuwan Daji near Papiri, while five others lost their lives in Kaima village.
According to the source, several villagers, including children, were abducted during the raids. Some of the abducted children were said to be pupils and students of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Agwarra Local Government Area.
“They have been coming out of the forest for about a week now, attacking villages freely because there is no security presence here. Just yesterday alone, they burnt a market and abducted many people, including children,” the source said, appealing to the government and security agencies for urgent intervention.
The attacks were also confirmed by Stephen Kabirat, Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Kontagora, said terrorists recently attacked a Catholic mission house in the area.
“Our parish priest narrowly escaped abduction when the terrorists invaded the mission house three days ago. They destroyed some religious items, carted away two motorcycles and cash worth over N200,000,” Kabirat said.
He added that although the priest escaped, several villagers, including children, were abducted during the attack.
Another resident lamented that many villagers have been forced to flee their homes, saying some families, including those whose children were abducted, are now sleeping in the bush out of fear.
As investigations continue, residents of the affected communities are calling on the state and federal governments to urgently deploy security personnel to the area to prevent further attacks and secure the release of those abducted.
