Bandits breach peace pact, kill 3 villagers in Niger

Three people have been reportedly killed and many others kidnapped between Saturday evening and Sunday morning in Kombo, a village in Kusherki District in Rafi LGA of Niger State.

One person was also said to be seriously injured and receiving treatment at a hospital.

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The attack came less than a week after bandits entered into a peace pact with the communities and promised them peace.

A resident in the picture of the peace deal who pleaded anonymity said they were devastated by the latest attack.

He said though the group they signed a peace pact with had denied responsibility for the latest attack, they no longer had confidence in the peace deal.

He lamented that the attack came when preparations were in top gear for their people to return home and begin their farming activities.

“We are devastated and traumatised. We have all fled our homes; no one even went to the farm today. On Saturday evening, they kidnapped many people in various communities. They came back in the night and killed three people and injured one person in Kombo, near Zara community, a few kilometres away from Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.

“Our worry now is the fact that we have been abandoned as if we are not Nigerians. With all these attacks, we have never seen security operatives even patrolling our communities.

“However, we don’t understand the peace deal we signed with these bandits because, even after negotiating the peace deal, they refused to release the rest of the people they earlier kidnapped. And we have been attacked again.

“We thought after the peace deal, we were going to see peace returning and our people returning home to engage in farming activities.

“But the group we signed a peace pact with has denied responsibility for the fresh attack. Surprisingly, they (bandits) told us that they were going to inform other groups of our peace deal with them. That was even the reason why they demanded money to buy kola nuts for distribution to other groups,” he said.

Efforts to reach the Niger State Police Command’s public relations officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, were not successful as his mobile line was not reachable.