The is uncertainty on the fate of the peace deal
entered into by the Niger State Government and bandits about three weeks ago as
over 1,580 villagers were sacked from their ancestral homes by bandits on
Wednesday night.
The state government had under the peace deal
released 13 bandits while 35 others laid down their arms, as the state government
also promised to resettle the repentant bandits.
However, it was gathered that operating under the
cover of darkness, the bandits, riding on motorcycles, invaded the Jaramaya
village near Allawa in the Shiroro Local Government Area, sacking the villagers
from their homes.
Though it was gathered that no life was lost in the
invasion, the villagers were reported to have fled to Allawa, the headquarters
of the district for their safety.
"Other communities in the district-Batorun
Jatau, Bataron Waziri-were also attacked and sacked," an eyewitness told
journalists in Minna on Thursday.
The bandits were said to have dispossessed the
villagers of valuable items, including harvested crops, it was further
gathered.
The District Head of Allawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Salihu,
confirmed the incident in a telephone interview, saying those displaced are now
in Allawa town.
Salihu pleaded with the state government and
security agencies to come to the aids of his people by sending armed security
men to the area.
However, the state police said they were yet to be
informed of the incident.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji
Ibrahim Ahmed Matane, who coordinated the peace deal, could not be reached for
comment.
However the Chief Press Secretary to the state
Governor, Mary Noel Berje, confirmed the incident, saying the joint military
task force in the state, which includes air surveillance team of the Nigerian
Air Force (NAF), has been dispatched to the troubled communities to dislodge
the bandits from their hideouts.
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