DOZENS of people have been kidnapped from Shadadi town in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, BBC Hausa reports.
Residents were quoted to have said that thousands of people have fled the town after the attack.
A resident interviewed by the BBC said more than 1,000 gunmen had attacked, killing eight people and wounding four.
According to the man who asked not to be named, almost all the villagers fled to neighbouring towns such as Kontagora.
The Niger State Commissioner for Information Sani Idris confirmed the attack but said the number of people allegedly abducted was less than 100.
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He said they were currently compiling statistics of the number of people affected by the attack and had already sought the Federal Government’s cooperation.
There is no confirmation yet whether the attackers were Boko Haram members or bandits.
Wednesday’s attack comes at a time of heightened security tensions in Niger since the state government confirmed that Boko Haram had entered the town.
Kaduna State is in a similar situation, with gunmen attacking churches, killing two people and abducting others.
The state government, however, said the abductees had been rescued.
The security situation in Nigeria has been compounded by the growing fears of insecurity among Nigerians, especially in rural areas.
Security experts have expressed poor leadership of the government in handling the security issue. but the government says it is doing its best to address security concerns in the country.
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