Gunmen go on rampage in Niger communities, kill village head, abduct residents

Three persons including a village head have been killed following an attack by gunmen in several communities in Munya LGA, Niger state.

Garba Muhammed, chairman of the LGA, confirmed the attack to TheCable on Friday.

Muhammed said the gunmen attacked nearly seven villages, adding that the community head of Dnadna village in Sarkin Pawa, headquarters of Munya LGA, was among the victims.

“Yes, there were casualties and some residents were also kidnapped. From the information I received, they took about three people and three persons were shot dead. Among the people that were killed include a community leader (sarkin Anguwa) of Dnadna village,” he said.

“It was around 2am by the time I heard about the attack. The gunmen started from a village called Tsohon Kabula before they moved to Gini, Fuka, Gupa, and Lapa, a village which shares boundary with Shiroro LGA.

“They then moved to Zidna and later headed to my village in Daza where they kidnapped two people. It is a very long journey and they took a very long time and finished their operation at about 4 to 5 am.”

The LGA chairman said he had requested the intervention of the army to tackle the situation but the officers arrived at about 8 am on Friday.

Speaking on the attacks, Dantala Noma, a politician in Munya, said the gunmen moved freely for over seven hours in different villages in the LGA.

“The gunmen left Chibiani village around 5am this morning,” he said.

“They carted away with many cows and virtually all the residents in the affected villages have escaped to the nearby towns. They operated for over seven hours, moving freely and there was no security anywhere. In fact, it was the same route they followed while invading that they followed while leaving the villages.

“They killed two youths and Malebi Dnadna, the village head of Dnadna community. They kidnapped a woman, one resident of Lapa village and a younger brother of the youth leader in Munya.”

Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger police spokesperson, promised to update TheCable with more details of the incident.

‘THREE KILLED’ IN ANOTHER ATTACK

In another development, three persons were reportedly killed during an attack by gunmen in Rumache Madalla village in Shiroro LGA of the state.

Salis Sabo, spokesperson of the Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA), confirmed the development in a statement on Friday.

According to Sabo, many residents were abducted while some sustained injuries during the attack on Thursday.

“Romache community Bassa/Kukoki Ward, Shiroro LGA of Niger State was invaded by terrorists yesterday. The attack was carried out in broad daylight and about three persons lost their lives leaving many others with various degrees of injury,” the statement reads.

“In the same vein, another attack was ongoing in Daza community, Munya LGA, a local government that shares boundaries with Shiroro.

“The record of casualties from the attack remains sketchy. However, it has been confirmed that an unknown number of persons were kidnapped in the attack.”