Terror attacks in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State have continued unabated as suspected bandits ambushed and killed no fewer than seven farmers in another deadly attack.
The latest incident occurred on Friday in Gbere community, Wawa District, where the victims reportedly ran into an ambush while on a search mission for two community members earlier declared missing.
A source close to the community told Naija Daily News that the farmers had mobilised after information filtered in that the two missing persons might have been killed by bandits while returning from their farms.
“Two people went to their farms in the morning and never came back. Later, we heard that bandits might have killed them. So the youths went into the bush to look for them, but they were ambushed and shot dead,” the source said.
He added that the whereabouts of the two originally missing persons remain unknown, deepening fear and anxiety in the community.
“Up till now, nobody knows where those two people are. We no longer have peace here. Everybody is living in fear,” he lamented.
It was gathered that troops of the Nigerian military stationed in the area later recovered the bodies of the slain farmers and conveyed them back to Wawa–Gbere community for burial.
Those killed in the ambush were identified as Naziru Suraju, Luqman Murtala, Salihu Issa (popularly known as Baabe), Zakari Ibrahim (also called Bagado Bobo), Bashir Abdullah and Abdulrahman Yahaya. One other victim was yet to be fully identified as of press time.
The fresh killings came barely two weeks after gunmen attacked the same Gbere community, killing four cattle rearers and rustling several cows.
In a particularly disturbing twist, an 85-year-old woman was also killed during the earlier attack, which reportedly occurred just hours after Niger State Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago visited Borgu Kingdom to commiserate with residents over previous killings.
Community sources said the attackers stormed the area in large numbers, riding motorcycles, firing sporadically and carting away food items after unleashing terror.
Residents have continued to appeal to security agencies and the state government to intensify operations in the area, warning that rural communities in Borgu are fast becoming ghost settlements as farmers abandon their lands out of fear.
As of press time, security authorities were yet to issue an official statement on the latest attack.
