Residents ‘drown’ while fleeing bandit attacks in Niger

A boat conveying residents has reportedly capsized in a river in Guni village, Munya LGA of Niger state.

TheCable understands that the incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon.

Usman Kuta, chairman of the coalition of the Shiroro association (COSA), confirmed the development in a message, adding that 11 corpses have been recovered.

“The accident occurred at Munya local government area under Guni in a village called Ashita,” he said.

“As of the time of compiling this report, 11 dead bodies have been found out of the number of people in the boat that capsized.

“The exact number of people on board is not certain yet, because they were running for their lives as a result of bandits’ attack.”

On his part, Garba Muhammad, chairman of Munya LGA, said he is yet to get full details on the incident.

According to Muhammad, delegates have been sent to the area where the incident occurred, but they are yet to report back on their findings.

Efforts to reach Wasiu Abiodun, Niger police spokesman, were not successful as he didn’t respond to calls or message.

The incident comes amid attacks by gunmen across communities in Niger state, which has resulted in killings, abductions, and displacement of scores of residents.