No fewer than five soldiers have been killed by gunmen suspected to be bandits in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The bandits stormed the camp of the Joint Security Task Force comprising of the Army, Police, Civil Defence and Vigilantes at Allawa and opened fire on them.
The gunmen reportedly abducted over 10 persons, stole seven motorcycles and burnt down military vehicles in attacks which happened between late hours on Wednesday and early hours of Thursday.
The communities attacked by the bandits are Allawa, Manta, Gurmana, Bassa and Kokki in Shiroro council.
An officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was also killed in the attack while many security personnel sustained injuries.
Residents said the bandits attacked Manta, Gurmana and Bassa villages on Wednesday, where they killed one Alhaji Sale in Madalla community and kidnapped four people.
While confirming the incidents, President, Shiroro Youth Movement, Mohammed Sani Idris, said the bandits numbering about 100, were armed with AK47 .
He said they attacked the communities for about five hours unchallenged.
“During the invasion, they killed one Alhaji Sale in Madalla community under Bassa ward and kidnapped four people and went away with two motorcycles”
“Also in Kokki Boddo a community under Gurmana ward, they abducted six persons and took away five motorcycles, five people were also kidnapped in Manta ward,” he said.
Idris appealed to both the federal and state governments to double up their effort in rescuing the lives of people at the various communities.
Efforts to get the police reaction to the the incident proved abortive as the public relations officer of the command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, neither picked calls nor responded to messages sent to him as at the time of filling this report.
