Bandits wreak havoc in Niger communities

...As over 200 motorcycles ferry armed men across villages in three-week rampage  

By Baba Alfa, Minna

Armed bandits continue to unleash violence across several communities in Niger State, leaving residents in Rijau, Mariga and Borgu Local Government Areas in a state of fear and vulnerability as the attacks persist unchecked.

For the past three weeks, eyewitnesses report that hundreds of heavily armed men have been moving in convoys of motorcycles, targeting remote villages, looting shops, and rustling cattle with impunity.

The assailants, believed to have crossed into Niger State from neighbouring Zamfara, are reportedly equipped with AK-47 rifles and other sophisticated firearms.

Residents told NewsDirect that the bandits appear to have now set up a temporary base in Rijau town, the administrative headquarters of Rijau LGA. This follows a string of deadly assaults in Bangi and Kakihum villages in Mariga LGA, which left many displaced and traumatised.

Fear has since spread to the Ibbi and Babana axis of Borgu LGA, where communities are bracing for possible attacks. Locals believe the gangs are regrouping and may soon launch strikes in the area.

“There are no security operatives in the entire area, except for a few local vigilante groups who are outnumbered and poorly equipped,” a resident said.

“They are attacking homes, businesses, and even petrol stations, seizing goods and livestock while helpless residents look on,” he added.

Several sources have also raised alarm over an alleged plot by the bandits to move on Kontagora, a key town located just a few kilometres from their current stronghold.

Despite mounting fear and widespread displacement, neither the Niger State government nor any security agency has issued a formal statement addressing the situation.

Efforts by NewsDirect to contact the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.