From Mathew Jwantu,
Minna
Armed Bandits unleash terror in Borgu emirate council as they killed one person, abducted an Islamic cleric and 19 others in a raid on some communities in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
It was gathered that, the Imam of the Emir’s palace mosque, simply called Malam Habibu, was among those kidnapped.
This was the first of such invasion in the area since insurgency commenced across the state.
Source revealed that the incident which occurred at about 5.30pm on Saturday left three persons critically injured following a stampede.
According to the eyewitness account: “The bandits were many, they rode on motorcycles, carrying sophisticated guns, cutlasses and knives.
“They blocked the road from Ibbi to New Bussa and attacked the villagers going and coming from the markets in both communities and shot sporadically killing one person and kidnapping 20 others.
“We did not know that the Imam was one of those kidnapped until on Sunday morning when they (kidnappers) called the Emir and asked for the payment of N20 million for the release of the Imam.”
This attack is coming barely one week after the presidential directive to Governor Sani Bello to use air force and flush out the bandits from Niger Forests.
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