Niger State Government Calls on Nigerian Army to Deploy Troops Against Bandits

The Niger State Government has urged the Nigerian Army to deploy its troops to communities in the state that are currently under attack by bandits. The call was made by the state’s acting governor, Yakubu Garba, following a series of attacks on several local governments in the state that have resulted in the killing and abduction of residents.

In some cases, shops were also razed after looting, said Garba, who made the call on Saturday during a chat with newsmen at a Fida’u prayer for 13 farmers killed by bandits in the Shiroro Local Government.

The farmers, who were on their farms in Anguwan village, were attacked and shot dead by bandits. Nine were killed on the spot, while the remaining four were dragged to another location where they were also killed.

Garba appealed to the military to return to Allawa and other communities that are prone to bandit attacks, saying that the withdrawal of troops has weakened the government’s efforts to end insecurity in the state.

“The withdrawal of troops from Allawa and other communities has weakened the government’s efforts to eradicate insecurity in the state,” Garba said. “We need the military to provide full security cover to our people who are predominantly farmers.”

According to Garba, the state government had deployed strategies to end insecurity, which had brought safety to commuters along the Kuta, Gwada, Zumba, and Erena roads in Shiroro council. The farmers who were killed in the attack were displaced farmers who had left the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

A father of one of the victims, Isah Allawa, who spoke with newsmen, narrated how his son Mubarak Isah was among those killed. He said that the bandits caught his son and others unaware, separating them into two groups before killing them.

“A bandit asked people from Kagara to go while those from Allawa had their hands tied to their backs before they started killing them,” Allawa said.

Also, a widow, Murjanatu Musa, who lost her son in the attack, lamented that the deceased was married before he was killed. She said that she had lost her husband to a bandits’ attack in 2023.

The Niger State Government’s appeal to the Nigerian Army comes as communities in the state continue to suffer under the siege of bandits, who have displaced thousands of people and destroyed property worth millions of naira.