Bandits Kill Village Head in Niger Community, Kidnap Several Villagers

Laleye Dipo in Minna

After weeks of respite, bandits have again struck at Zagzaga community in Kabula ward of Munya Local Government of Niger State.

The deadly assault, which took place Tuesday night, resulted in the death of the village head, Malam Usman Hussaini, while scores of villagers, mostly women and children, were abducted.

In the stampede that followed the invasion by the terrorists, many other villagers were injured and are now receiving treatment either at the General Hospital in Sarkinpawa town, headquarters of the local government, or at the residences of traditionalists.

According to a report from the area, the community has now been deserted, leaving the bandits to hold sway there.

It was gathered that the bandits numbering over 50, stormed the community immediately the villagers finished offering the last Muslim prayer for the day shooting sporadically with some of them also wielding matchetes,  knives and other dangerous weapons.

A reliable source told THISDAY that the bandits stormed the residence of the village head, dragged him out and shot him.

The source said all the shout for help by the villagers did not yield any result because there were no securitymen around.

Efforts to confirm the invasion from the state Police Command’s Public Relations Officer PRO, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, was not successful as he did not respond to calls made to his cell phone.

However, the overseeing Director General, Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Mr Salihu Garba, confirmed that: “We have received reports like that; we are waiting for our man on the ground to give us the details.”

Garba said after receiving the report from the field a “report will be sent to the state government”.

In October 2021, bandits struck the same Zagzaga community, kidnapping over 67 villagers some of whom were released only early this year.

Before the latest incident, most of the villagers were in the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps and had just started returning to their ancestral homes, according to the report.