Gunmen ‘kill two, abduct 14’ in attacks on Niger communities

Gunmen have reportedly killed two persons and abducted 14 others during separate attacks on communities in Shiroro LGA of Niger.

In a statement, Salis Sabo, spokesperson of the Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA), said one person was killed, while three others were abducted during an attack along Gwada and Kuta roads on Sunday.

“It was around 11:30 am when bandits stormed some communities surrounding Gwada town, a few kilometres away from Kuta, the headquarters of Shiroro local government,” the statement reads.

“The terrorists launched a coordinated attack on innocent people moving unchallenged from one village to another for more than 5 hours in broad daylight.

“One person has been reported dead and one other abducted in Chiri. A woman and her daughter-in-law were also abducted in Bmanape community.

“The attack is believed to have been masterminded to rustle cattle. However, while trying to move the unruly cattle to their destination, the bandits blocked the highway at Egwa village where many innocent victims were caught in the web.

“Out of panic, a motorist had an accident along Egwa-Kuta road. He is presently receiving treatment at Gwada. Similarly, the council chairman of Shiroro local government narrowly escaped the attack on the same road.”

In a separate attack on Sunday, gunmen were said to have invaded Abaga, a village in Shiroro LGA of Niger.

Confirming the attack to TheCable on Monday, Kabiru Muhammed, a traditional title holder in Erena, said one person was killed, while 11 others were abducted during the attack.

“The bandits attacked a village in Apaga in Erena ward yesterday. They invaded at about 9pm and they spent over three hours operating in the village,” he said.

“There was no security to salvage the situation because it was already night when the bandits attacked. It was until midnight before they left the village.

“They killed one man called Bala. He is even a family man with three wives. The bandits shot him dead when he declined to follow them to the bush alongside the rest of the abducted persons. They abducted eleven people from the village.

“He is among the IDPs that ran away from their villages to Erena town. The man had even built a house here in Erena. It was because of the bandits’ attack in Abaga, his village, that he came to Erena to build a house.”

Speaking on the attacks on Monday, Umar Emmanuel, Niger commissioner for internal security and humanitarian affairs, said one person was killed during the attack on Abaga, adding that the number of abductees has not been confirmed.

“Yes, there was an attack there. One person was killed but not 11 people were abducted,” he told TheCable.

“It happened at night and you know because of the network and it’s a hard-to-reach community, before our security men could mobilise, before we even got the information to mobilise, it was early hours of today. I will confirm the number of the persons kidnapped and get back to you.”

Commenting on the attack on Gwada-Kuta road, he said security operatives have been deployed to the area.

“Well, they came to rustle cattle, not that they attacked villages, but we engaged them and even up till this moment, we are still engaging them and some of the residents have started coming back,” he added.

“Some of our security men, both the ground troops and air component, engaged them.”