Residents flee as bandits raid communities in Niger

Dozens of residents in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State were forced to flee their homes on Sunday night following a series of attacks by bandits.

The affected communities include Kemaka, Roro, Unguwan-Usman, Karaga, Rumace, and Bassa.

The displaced residents, who spent Sunday night hiding in the bush, reported that the attackers numbered around 200.

Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Brigadier General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (retired), confirmed the incident over the phone. 

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He stated that efforts are ongoing to combat insecurity in the state’s farming communities and that the state government is working to establish temporary settlement centres for displaced persons.

“The government is taking steps to bring the situation under control. We are providing resettlement centres for the affected communities because, even if they return home now, there is no peace of mind. Some of them don’t even have a place to sleep if they go back. If there is life, there is hope,” he said.

Before the Sunday night attacks in Shiroro LGA, bandits reportedly blocked the Zungeru-Tegina road on Sunday, May 12, kidnapping an unspecified number of traders on their way to the Zungeru weekly market. 

Sources said the bandits blocked the road near Kundu village in broad daylight.