Tension as bandits attack Niger community; kill village head, abduct son, 17 others

The  village head of  Rumache in Kukoki  Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State,  Ahmad Yakubu,  was killed in the early hours of Friday  by gunmen suspected to be bandits, The Punch report.

Our correspondent learnt that the hoodlums, who invaded the village about 2am,  also abducted Yakubu’s son, dispossessed residents of their valuables and razed many homes.

It was learnt that  gangsters  on Thursday   raided    four other communities in the LGA – Magami, Gungu, Zongoro and Masuku, where they abducted  17 people before storming Rumache.

It was learnt that many  people sustained gunshot wounds during the attacks.

The chairman of the council, Suleiman Chukuba, confirmed the attacks and the death of the village head.

He said  the villagers were taken unawares by the hoodlums.

Chukuba  said,”The attack took place around 2am.  They (gunmen)  were many and they took the villagers unawares.

“Only  the village head of Rumache was killed while his son was kidnapped. However,  the  day before, the bandits invaded Magami, Gungu, Zongoro and Masuku villages  and kidnapped 17 people.”

He  said  the police and some vigilantes  had been combing  the forest  to rescue those abducted by the gunmen.

Chukuba  appealed for urgent government intervention.

He said, “We need government intervention because of the way things are  going.”

One of the children of the  village head, Al-Mustapha Ahmed, also confirmed the death of his father.

Ahmed lamented that the government was not doing enough to protect residents of the council.

He said, “It is no longer news that we have since been robbed of security in this local government, forcing us to run helter-skelter  to avoid being killed.”