Gunmen have carried outbseries of attacks resulting in the deaths of at least 38 individuals.
The bandits also reportedly kidnapped several people during the same period. The incidents have raised concerns about the security situation in the state.
Gunmen carried out a series of attacks in communities in the Rafi local government area of Niger State, resulting in multiple fatalities and kidnappings.
The assailants initially targeted Katako village, where they killed 25 people. Subsequently, they proceeded to Kusherki town, where they claimed the lives of 13 more individuals.
Additionally, the gunmen attacked Mariga Market in the Mariga local government area, injuring numerous traders and stealing cattle and the market proceeds.
These incidents have caused significant harm and disruption to the affected communities.
The exact number of people kidnapped was not immediately known but one of the traders who escaped with injuries said: “They were many.”
The witness, according to Arise TV said the bandits stormed the market with three of them riding on motorcycles with each person clutching an AK-47 rifle.
“They shot sporadically into the air to scare the traders with the bullets hitting and injuring some of the traders,” the eyewitness said on condition of anonymity.
Niger State Police spokesperson, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, said that the police in collaboration with the military have been dispatched to Yakila, Tegina, Kagara, Pandogari, Kusherki and other villages in the Rafi LGA to restore normalcy in the affected areas.
Abiodun in his official statement did not, however, confirm the number of casualties or people kidnapped during the rampage.
Meanwhile, the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District in the State, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Musa, has cried out that armed gunmen have taken over communities in his constituency.
Musa in a statement over the weekend said that not less than 20 villagers had been killed by bandits in the last couple of weeks while about 70 others were kidnapped.
