Bandits kidnapped six young girls in Niger State’s Pandogari hamlet, Rafi Local Government Area, after calling a vigilante, Aliyu Aminu.
Residents informed Daily Trust that the bandits attacked their hamlet from the Birnin Gwari axis via the Mamman Kontagora Technical College in Pandogari.
One of the informants stated the bandits moved from house to house during the night raid, which occurred at midnight on Wednesday.
“The Wednesday night attack was third in a week. They have been attacking us since the negotiation with Kaduna State Government. The negotiation and settlement with residents of Birnin Gwari is not to our advantage,” the source said.
“These attacks resumed since the day Kaduna State negotiated with them in Birnin Gwari. Last week, they came and kidnapped people including the village head. They came twice before the last Wednesday night.”
Ayuba Usman Katako, Chairman of Rafi LGA, acknowledged the attacks, stating that the Niger and Kaduna state governments needed to work together to protect the two states’ safety.
“It was true that bandits attacked Pandogari community. In fact, that was not the only attack in the last two weeks. The Wednesday attack was the third one.
“In the previous attacks, they only succeeded in kidnapping some people in some Villages but on Wednesday, a life was lost before they kidnapped 8 people but 4 of them eventually escaped,” he explained.
Zubairu Isma’ila Zannan Kwangoma, a member of the Niger State House of Assembly representing Rafi Constituency, reported in a resolution of urgent public significance on the floor of the House that terrorists had kidnapped 122 persons and killed two in Rafi LGA within one month.
He named Pandogari, Gidigori, Ringa, and Kawo as the worst affected communities, noting that they had suffered extreme economic hardship and agricultural destruction since being uprooted.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
