Bandits invade Kebbi community

Several armed bandits riding on motorcycles on Monday invaded Illo community in Bagudo Local Government Area of Kebbi state.

The bandits, according to some locals, carried machine guns and other locally-made guns which they shot sporadically into the air when they entered the town.

The vigilante group and residents in the community were said to scamper for their lives when they heard sounds of the gun shots.

Though no life was said to have been lost in the invasion but many residents of the town, according to the locals, had since fled to the neighbouring communities in the local government area.

When contacted, the Chairman of Bagudo Local Government, Alhaji Muhammad Kaura, said the invasion happened around 11:30pm on Monday.

“The bandits were first sighted roaming around the area, buying bread and bottles of coke as well as pure water during the day. But nobody had shown any concern to report them to the appropriate authorities,” he said.

Kaura added that the bandits later in the day laid siege to the community, adding that, “when our vigilante and residents attempted to countered their move, they brought out highly sophisticated machine guns and rifles and started shooting sporadically into the air.”

He said when people heard the gun shots they ran for their lives and scampered for safety.

The chairman while speaking to our correspondent on phone called on residents in the area to be vigilant and report any suspicious character lurking around the area to the police and vigilante group.

He added that the situation had been brought under control as residents have continued to go about their normal activities.

However, unconfirmed reports said the wife of a prominent oil marketer in the area was whisked away by the invaders.

When Daily Trust contacted the state Police command Public Relations Officer, DSP Nafiu Abubakar, to confirm the incident, he said he would get back to our reporter but he never did as at the time of filing this report.