AT least 35 persons have been abducted and several others injured by armed bandits at Chiri, Gini and Fuka communities in Shiroro and Munya local government areas of Niger State. 

Chairman of the Niger Concern Citizens Muhammad Awaisu Wana said in a radio programme monitored in Minna that 10 out of 15 wards in Shiroro Local Government Council were currently under the control of bandits, adding that Gwada, Kuta and Sarkin Pawa in Shiroro and Munya LGA had become headquarters for displaced persons affected by the situation.

The ICIR understands that bandits invaded the communities in motorcycles on Saturday evening, shooting sporadically and causing the villagers to flee into the forest for safety.

READ ALSO: Six informants arrested by security agencies in Niger

Wana explained that eight of the wards under bandits’ control were in riverine areas, noting that there were about 80,000 IDPs in the state.

Wana urged Nigeria’s government to come to their aid to enable them return home and start preparing for this year’s farming, stressing that there could be food shortage in the state and country if the banditry continued unabated.

The co-Convener of Concerned Shiroro Youths Sani Abubakar Kokki also confirmed the attack in Gini, Fuka and Chiri communities, stressing that the communities were simultaneously attacked by the bandits. He also said that there were people who sustained multiple gunshot injuries amid destruction of houses and food stores.

Last Friday, Deputy Governor of Niger State Ahmed Ketso, during his visit to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp at Gwada and Shiroro local government areas,  said that the security challenge in the state was overwhelming.

He noted that the security situation in the state was above the state and they must pray over the situation. He also warned citizens to desist from being informants to the bandits.