Residents in Niger State’s various communities are currently on edge due to the constant invasion of their communities by bandits, kidnappers, and other militias.
The invaders readily kill, kidnap, and destroy homes, implying that they are on a heinous mission to annihilate the entire population of these communities.
Previously, these hoodlums operated in isolated communities with little or no security presence. However, they have now come out in full force to ruthlessly attack any community, regardless of whether or not there is any security personnel present.
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As a result, residents of Gwada, Kuta, Galkogo, Zumba, Gurumana, Erena, Bassa, and Allawa communities have been subjected to a number of daredevil assaults in recent months.
Hundreds of men, women, and children were slaughtered like animals by the hoodlums, while kidnappers collected hundreds of millions of naira in ransom from those who had their lives and property spared. Simultaneously, 10,000 members of various communities in the state have been displaced.
Concerned about the bandits’ atrocities, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello warned that seven of the state’s 25 local government areas had been constantly overrun by bandits and other daredevils in recent weeks, and he called for a concerted effort to deal with the threat posed by the criminal elements.
The governor’s remark came after three soldiers and eight residents were killed, as well as many houses being burned down, following a bandit invasion of villages in the state’s Mariga Local Government Area.
The soldiers and four local vigilantes were said to have been ambushed and killed while patrolling the area as part of their operations to secure the area at Kwanan Dutse.
The attack was the second in two weeks, forcing residents of Ishau, Ishau, Kuna, Amale, Adunu, Kudami, and Beni communities to flee their homes due to ongoing gunman attacks.
As if that wasn’t enough, three police officers were killed and several others were injured in a similar incident three weeks ago, while a 20-year-old man was also shot while riding his motorcycle back to his village in Adunu.
Only last week, bandits attacked Galadima Kogo, killing several security personnel and villagers.
This development has since put the state government and the local youth on a collision course.
The youths have urged the state and federal governments to take decisive action to address the state’s worsening insecurity before it spirals out of control.
Concerned Shiroro Youths of Niger State have called for an increase in the presence of soldiers and police officers, particularly in areas most vulnerable to insecurity.
“Enough is enough,” said Co-conveners of Concerned Shiroro Youths, Sani Abubakar Kokki, and Bello Ibrahim, in a statement.
“We can no longer fold our arms and watch as our lives are wasted senselessly by criminal elements.”
Meanwhile, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, who represents Niger East, one of the communities terrorized by the bandits, has renewed his call for the Federal Government to establish a permanent security base in all affected areas terrorized by the bandits, as well as for the military to develop a new strategy for combating insecurity in Niger State and other parts of the country.
According to Arewa Voice, many farmers in some communities have been forced by bandits to pay a “tax” before being allowed to harvest their crops.
After the beleaguered farmers pay a ransom to one gang of militias, others emerge to demand their share of the ransom as a condition for the farmers to stay and farm in their communities, a strange development that is unsettling Niger State residents.
One of the consequences of the ongoing attacks on farmers and their communities is a scarcity of staple foods and a sharp rise in prices, posing a threat to food security, health, and nutrition of those who rely on farm produce for survival.
Enrollment in schools has also dropped dramatically as a result of children withdrawing from schools as a result of abductions of pupils and other students in some schools by bandits who regard Western education as an abomination.
Only a few days ago, state Governor Abubakar Sani Bello lamented that his state has the highest number of out-of-school children in the North Central geopolitical zone due to insecurity.
