NIGER: Bandits abduct two ‘about-to-wed’ females, 17 others in Kutunku

THERE was pandemonium in Kutunku  a village in Wushishi council area of the state yesterday when some gunmen suspected to be bandits stormed the rustic community.

They were said to have come to the village on motorcycles, shooting repeatedly to scare the residents.

According to an eyewitness, the bandits roughened up some of the villagers, ransacked their homes for cash and foodstuff, and whisked away 19 residents.

It was gathered that two of the female abductees were billed to wed this weekend,

The community and the families of the abducted persons were yet to be contacted by the gunmen as at press time, according to a source.

Niger State has recently become one of the hotspots of banditry in the North.

Last month, some of the bandits attacked the Government Science Secondary School in Kagara and abducted some staff and students of the school. A student was reported killed during the attack. The abductees have, however, since been released.

Governor Sani Bello, who had signalled interest in entering into peace talks with bandits in the state, announced yesterday that his administration would no longer negotiate with the bandits.

He said the government would rather strengthen the operations of the vigilantes in the state by getting them pump action guns among other sophisticated weapons.