Suspected bandits carried out a catastrophic attack on the Madaka community in Niger State’s Rafi local government area, killing 21 people, including the village chief.
The incident unfolded with terrifying swiftness around 3pm on Thursday, amidst the bustling activity of the community market, resulting in a grim tally of casualties.
According to reports from the scene, there was complete chaos, with around 50 homes engulfed in flames, as well as many commercial premises and a number of cars and motorcycles reduced to charred remnants.
The invaders, armed and unrelenting, are claimed to have swooped on the community with merciless gunfire, annihilating lives and leaving the once-thriving market to ashes. Furthermore, they grabbed an unknown number of residents and took them to an undisclosed place.
Alhaji Isah Bawale, a respected district chief, confirmed the distressing events in a sombre phone call from Minna, the state capital. This tragedy is a chilling repeat, as the community already faced a similar assault years ago, culminating in the untimely death of a prior district head.
Alarmingly, Madaka has remained without appropriate security since that fatal day, leaving its residents subject to the whims of roving bandits who have since operated with impunity.
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Efforts to obtain clarity and assurance from the Niger State Command of Police, via Public Relations Officer SP Wasiu Abiodun, were met with promises of verification and follow-up, but no response was received at the time of this report.
The Niger State Government has yet to comment on the incident, raising concerns about the measures being done to protect vulnerable communities like Madaka from such brazen acts of violence.
Resolute action is needed.
Meanwhile, the Northern Senators Forum has condemned the current wave of kidnappings and other violent actions in the region, urging the federal government to take immediate and decisive action to remove the threat.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its Chairman, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’adua, the group promised not to “rest until the security situation is significantly improved and the perpetrators of these heinous acts are brought to justice.”
Yar’adua, who recently succeeded Senator Abdul Ningi as Chairman of the Forum after his three-month suspension by the Senate, stated that the Northern Senators Forum is deeply concerned about the latest wave of violence and kidnappings in the North.
He stated that the Forum is committed to finding a long-term solution to this problem and will go to whatever length to ensure that it is eradicated.
“The series of events that have unfolded in Kaduna State, beginning with the kidnapping of 286 students and staff from a school on March 7th, the despicable attack on worshippers in a mosque on March 8th, the abduction of 61 more persons on March 12th, followed by 14 individuals on March 17th, and a staggering total of 87 individuals in Kujuru on March 18th, amongst others, are not only reprehensible but demand urgent and resolute action,” the statement went on to say.