By Deborah Nnamdi
Bandits have launched a fresh attack on Palaita community in Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting 24 people, including pregnant women, from a rice farm.
The attack occurred at about 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday while residents were harvesting their crops. Despite Palaita being just five kilometres from a military base in Erena, the gunmen reportedly fled with the victims before security operatives could intervene.
Earlier the same day, another group of armed men stormed the Kakuru community, also in Erena Ward, where they assaulted a blind resident and amputated his right hand after seizing a mobile phone from him. The attackers, who arrived around 8:00 a.m., met only the visually impaired man at home, as other residents had gone to their farms. The victim told them the phone belonged to a neighbour, a response that allegedly provoked them into the violent act. He is currently receiving first aid at a patent medicine shop in Kuduru.
Confirming the incident, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, said efforts were underway to rescue those abducted. He disclosed that a report received on Wednesday night also indicated that suspected armed men had abducted about ten people from Angwan-Kawo and Kuchipa villages in Shiroro LGA.
The latest attack comes barely a week after more than 300 students and teachers were kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, amid a surge in violent abductions across several northern states.
