In a recent attack in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, bandits have killed 25 farmers and abducted several women and girls from five different villages, according to reports.
The incident reportedly took place around 2 pm, and the killing was reported to have occurred in Kusherki and Gidigori communities, where 13 and 12 people respectively lost their lives. The whereabouts of several other victims remains unknown.
It was further gathered that humanitarian crisis in the area had worsened since Wednesday, and hundreds of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including women and children from various villages have trooped to Kagara, the headquarters of Rafi LGA, abandoning their villages for fear of bandits.
Confirming the attack, Mallam Nasir Buhari, a community leader in one of the affected villages said, “It’s true that bandits have resumed attacks with full force. We have not had it easy in the last two weeks but the situation had worsened since Wednesday. As I speak to you, bandits have taken over most parts of Rafi LGA.”
He added that the bandits had spent the night in Garin-Zara community and rustled hundreds of cattle, goats, and rams, and killed an unspecified number of people.
The Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa also confirmed the attack and lamented that the criminals had resumed attacks on Rafi, Paikoro, Munya, and Shiroro local governments that form part of his constituency. He revealed that the bandits are out to test the power and capacity of the new administrations at both federal and state levels.
The Niger State Police Command has however responded by deploying security operatives to the area to arrest the situation. The Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, said, “We have reviewed tactical deployments in the area, and more deployments of PMF (Police Mobile Force) have been made, in collaboration with the military to cover Yakila, Tegina, Kagara, Pandogari, Kusherki, and its environs to forestall reoccurrence.”
