Gunmen are reportedly still on rampage in the Munya
Local Government Area of Niger State where four soldiers, one of them an
officer, and some civilians were slain last Sunday.
This is coming as the state Governor, Alhaji
Abubakar Sani Bello, has told security agencies to adopt new tactics in their
fight against insurgency and banditry across the country.
This followed the abduction of the Chief Imam of
Beni Central Mosque, Alhaji Umar Ali,
and 20 others on Wednesday.
Reports from the area stated that the bandits were
busy sacking homes of the villagers and rustling their cattle and sheep without
any resistance.
It was said that apart from those kidnapped, the
bandits had killed four people and injured several others with one of them hit
in the head by bullet.
Those injured, according to the report, were either
receiving treatments at the Sarkinpawa or Kaffinkorl General Hospitals.
The District Head of Beni, Alhaji Jafaru Umar Sarki,
who confirmed the recent attacks to journalists in a telephone interview, said
the invasion of the community by the bandits is the second in three days.
According to him, "They came three days ago
and stole over 200 cows from Fulani men, and this morning (Wednesday), they
came again in their numbers. As I speak to you now, they are busy looting shops
and moving from house to house collecting people's property.
"So far four people have been killed; they
shot another boy in the head and we don't know if he will survive. They are so
many that I can't even count them, and they were all with guns.
"The unfortunate thing is that we informed the
security agents about it after the first attack but up till now, nobody came to
our rescue."
The Chairman of the Munya LGA, Alhaji Garba Umar,
could not be reached for confirmation of the incident neither could the police
could be reached.
Meanwhile, the state Governor, Bello, has told security
agencies to adopt new tactics in their fight against insurgency and banditry
across the country.
The governor’s advice came on the heels of
escalating bandits’ attacks in some parts of the state which have left four
soldiers dead and almost 2,500 people displaced.
In a statement on the recent attacks in Munya LGA,
Bello called for "a fresh, holistic approach to be introduced by the
security agencies in tackling banditry that has resurfaced in the state."
In the statement signed by his Chief Press
Secretary, Mary Noel Berje, the governor described the attack and loss of lives
and property "as sad and unfortunate."
Bello believed that “the bandits may have crossed
the river from Kaduna to launch attack in Munya," adding that “the issue
of insecurity is a collective battle which must not be left to the security
agencies and government alone."
He regretted that normalcy had earlier been restored
to the affected areas until the recent attack by the bandits who were said to
have laid ambush on the soldiers on routine patrol in the area.
He also appealed to all citizens, particularly those living
within the border communities, to remain proactive and provide security
agencies with relevant information that would lead to the thwarting of
potential attacks by bandits and report any unsuspecting individual or group
that might be connected with any form of crime.
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