Bandits attacked the Zagzzaga community in Niger State’s Munya local government area Wednesday, killing one person and capturing 63 others.
The bandits, totaling 60, arrived on 30 motorcycles positioned a few kilometers away from the village, firing at random and wounded a large number of people in the area bordering Kaduna State, according to LEADERSHIP.
According to sources, the abducted included the village head’s wife and the sons of the Munya councilor who represents Zagzzaga ward in Munya council.
The one person slain and those critically injured were vigilantes and youths who sought to fight the bandits when they attacked the community at around 2 a.m., according to reports.
It was further gathered that bandits abducted the 63 people amid the confusion of their invasion, raiding every compound in the hitherto quiet village.
A community leader Alhaji Maigiero Zagzzaga said apart from abducting mostly women, they looted valuables and forced the women abducted to carry the looted items as they escaped.
The council chairman Garba Daza when contacted told LEADERSHIP that he was in a crucial security meeting with the commissioner, but the secretary of the local government, Mr. James Jagaba confirmed the incident.
“There is hardly a week that we don’t experience this type of thing and reports are usually made,” he said, adding that the local government council has been frequently sending reports on the condition in the region to the state government.
Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Matane, the secretary to the state government (SSG), confirmed the incident but said he had not yet received specific details on the attack.
Ada Peter
