Armed bandits, in their large numbers, have again stormed some communities in the Rafi local government area of Niger State, killing one person and abducting 15 other villagers.
It was gathered that the armed bandits attacked Batagari village, in the Maikujeri District of the council area, at the weekend and the victims are mostly women.
The hoodlums were said to have arrived in the community on their operational motorcycles and shot sporadically into the air to instill fear in the villagers. They were said to have moved from house to house, ransacked residential buildings where they took away valuable properties and personal effects.
Eyewitnesses said shortly after causing panic, the bandits ransacked people’s homes moving from house to house, carrying away their valuables.
The source explained that most of those carried away were women, whose whereabouts has not been ascertained at the time of this report. “Nobody knows where the victims are now. Their families have not been contacted. We are all in a state of confusion now”, the source added.
The bandits are yet to contact the relatives of the victims.
However, efforts to get the reaction of the Niger State Police Command through the Public Relations Officer, PRO, DSP Wasiu Abiodun failed as he could not be reached as of press time.
