Bandits Raid Kuchi Community in Niger, Kidnap 17

There seems to be no respite for some communities in Niger State as bandits continue to raid villages, abduct residents and loot property.

A the weekend, the bandits were in another part of the Niger East senatorial district, where they wreaked havoc on innocent people.

During the invasion of Kuchi town in Munya Local Government Area by about 50 heavily-armed criminals, 17 people, including the father and mother of the former council Chairman, Malam Yahuza Abdullahi, were abducted.

Those kidnapped, according to a report from the area, also include a medical doctor, two nursing mothers and their two-week-old babies.

The raid, it was further gathered, lasted over two hours without any security operative countering the bandits

According to the report, the large number of the bandits and the sophistication of their weapons completely overwhelmed the local vigilante, making them to disperse.

It was gathered that the Munya LGA Chairman, Malam Garba Daza, has gone into hiding as a result of the frequent attacks on communities in his area.

Daza could no longer be reached either physically or through his cell phone.

The member representing the area in the state House of Assembly, Mr. Andrew Jagaba, when contacted on the phone, confirmed the incident.

Jagaba lamented that “in fact the entire community has been devastated; the people are in disarray and now live in fear.”

The lawmaker, however, said he was informed that security operatives have now been deployed in the area to repel the bandits “who are still hiding in the forest.”