From Mathew Jwantu,
Minna
Communities in Munya local government of Niger state have reportedly sighted numbers of stranded bandits perambulating the areas in apparently in search of food barely 24 hours after killing four soldiers in an ambush.
The bandits according to sources are up to 30 in numbers and are believed to have been involved in the attack to claimed four soldiers and other civilians in the area.
According to the source, “the bandits are armed with sophisticated guns. We are convinced that these strange people were earlier involved in the attack on Sunday during which some soldiers were killed. These attackers are currently stranded in communities in the area”
In a report yesterday, the state Radio station confirmed that several men riding in motorcycles have been sighted in some villages in Munya local government of the state.
The Chairman of Munya local government, Mohammed Garba Daza confirmed the sighting of the bandits in his local government to journalists.
Speaking through his Vice Chairman, Luka Garba, the Chairman appealed to the state government to beef up security of the area, adding that “the villagers have since abandoned their homes for the bandits.
According to the report, residents of the communities have fled their houses for fear of possible attack.
Our correspondent however learnt that the bandits are currently moving from one location to the other, looking for a safe exit from the communities as they feared that their entry route may no longer be safe for them.
The affected communities were named as Sohon kabula, luwi, Rufogo, Mudungo, Beni and Toko while the villagers have reportedly abandoned their homes.
It was learnt that the bandits have currently ran out of fuel in their motorcycles and food, and have therefore shared themselves into three groups with some in new Kabula and mangoro communities.
“They are all strangers because they don’t know where to go and how to get out of the communities, that is why they want the people to show them where to follow. They refused to follow all the routes that they showed them. So right now I can tell you that they are stranded. If the security agents can move in now they will capture them”, our source added.
Responding, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Niger state police command, DSP Mohammed Abubakar said that police have been deployed to flush out criminal elements from the area.
End.
