A six-month-old pregnant woman and five other persons have been allegedly killed by terrorists who invaded Agwa community, in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that during the attack on Tuesday, the terrorists, while shooting sporadically in the community, also abducted 50 persons to an unknown destination.
Speaking with our correspondent, an eyewitness, Mallam Audu, said some military personnel, who were on routine patrol in the community, engaged the terrorists in a gun battle, adding that the terrorists ran into a forest to escape arrest.
Audu said, “The bandits just entered our village and started shooting, people started to run for their lives in the process, and about six people were killed.
“As they were shooting, they also caught some people and had to rush out of the village as the soldiers arrived and engaged them in a shooting.
“The shooting from the soldiers was too much for the bandits and they had to run away into the forest. More than 50 persons were kidnapped and others were wounded as they were running away from the bandits.”
The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, Emmanuel Umar, who confirmed the incident, said the actual number of victims was yet to be ascertained.
In another development on Wednesday, bandits abducted three persons from Beji community in the Bosso Local Government Area of the state.
An eyewitness, Abdulahi Aminu, while narrating the incident to our correspondent, said the bandits invaded the community around 1am and shot sporadically.
“We were sleeping when we started hearing gunshots and people started running into the bush. The bandits entered the village and they were shooting for more than two hours none stop,” Aminu said.
He said the attack took place behind the Beji General Hospital without any challenge by security agencies or vigilante members.
Aminu said, “A woman and her two daughters were abducted by the bandits who also abducted a male tenant. But the male tenant later escaped.”
He said the bandits were yet to contact members of the family for ransom, alleging that the abduction was connected with an inheritance of a filing station located in Beji community.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, while confirming the report, said the incident occurred around 1.30am, adding that a tactical team had been sent out to rescue the victims.
