While several community leaders in crisis-prone areas of the northern region are in talks with known bandit commanders to halt the recurring attacks that have claimed lives and displaced hundreds, a 45-year-old man, Idris Gambo, has been reported killed and two teenagers abducted after a group of armed men attacked Unguwan-Zuru, a village in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State.
The teenagers, Ibrahim Danjuma and Paska Kokko, both 15 years old, were abducted from their residence in the area.
The gunmen were said to have stormed the village at midnight without facing any resistance from security agencies, before whisking the victims away to an unknown destination.
A community member who spoke with journalists a day after the incident described the attack as heartbreaking, saying the armed men opened fire on villagers who fled in panic.
According to the source, the deceased was among those fleeing when the bandits began shooting, and was struck by a stray bullet, dying on the spot.
“We are living in constant fear because nobody knows who will be the next victim,” he said on Thursday.
He added that the remains of the deceased have been deposited at the General Hospital in Kontagora, while search parties have been mobilised in an effort to rescue the kidnapped teenagers and track down the gunmen.
