Bandits kill village head, abduct son, 17 others in Niger
The village head of Rumache in Kukoki Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, Ahmad Yakubu, was killed in the early hours of Friday by gunmen suspected to be bandits.
Our correspondent learnt that the hoodlums, who invaded the village about 2am, also abducted Yakubu’s son, dispossessed residents of their valuables and razed many homes.
It was learnt that gangsters on Thursday raided four other communities in the LGA – Magami, Gungu, Zongoro and Masuku, where they abducted 17 people before storming Rumache.
It was learnt that many people sustained gunshot wounds during the attacks.
The chairman of the council, Suleiman Chukuba, confirmed the attacks and the death of the village head.
He said the villagers were taken unawares by the hoodlums.
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Chukuba said,”The attack took place around 2am. They (gunmen) were many and they took the villagers unawares.
“Only the village head of Rumache was killed while his son was kidnapped. However, the day before, the bandits invaded Magami, Gungu, Zongoro and Masuku villages and kidnapped 17 people.”
He said the police and some vigilantes had been combing the forest to rescue those abducted by the gunmen.
Chukuba appealed for urgent government intervention.
He said, “We need government intervention because of the way things are going.”
One of the children of the village head, Al-Mustapha Ahmed, also confirmed the death of his father.
Ahmed lamented that the government was not doing enough to protect residents of the council.
He said, “It is no longer news that we have since been robbed of security in this local government, forcing us to run helter-skelter to avoid being killed.”
