A soldier was killed in an attack by gunmen on communities in Niger State’s Paikoro and Munya Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The gunmen who launched a new assault also killed a village chief and a medical practitioner and kidnapped more than 60 people, including women and children.
The assailants, numbering around 100, were said to have invaded the two neighboring communities of Beni in Munya LGA and Adunu in Paikoro LGA in broad daylight on Monday and raided from house to house, robbing people of their money, other valuables, and food.
At Beni, the group assassinated the Village Head, Alhaji Salihu Ahmed, as he returned from the farm and kidnapped about 20 people, mostly women and children.
A medical practitioner, Joshua Bitrus, was also killed by the group that invaded the community when he attempted to flee into the bush upon seeing the gunmen, while over 40 people were taken away, including women, children, and a retired police officer, Moses Tanko aka Arada System.
According to a source close to the communities, those who could afford between N10,000 and N20,000 in cash, whether in old or new notes, were set free by the gunmen.
The gunmen were ambushed by the Joint Security Task Force at Sarkin Pawa after raiding the two communities on their way to their hideout in Kaduna State, and the ensuing gun battle resulted in the death of a member of the task force and a local vigilante, while several others sustained various degrees of injury and are currently being treated at a government health facility in Minna, the state capital.
The gunmen also vandalized two patrol vehicles belonging to the Joint Security Task Force, shattering the windscreens and tyres with bullets.
Reports reveal that an unspecified number of the gunmen who were moving in about 35 motorcycles in three groups were killed during the over one hour-long gun battle with security agents.
The Niger State Police Command has not yet responded to the recent attacks.
Emmanuel Umar, the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, said he was aware of the incident but had yet to obtain details about the attacks, but promised to issue a statement to that effect.
