Residents of various communities in Niger and Kwara states have fled their homes following attacks by bandits. In Niger State, many residents of communities in Mariga Local Government Area (LGA) fled on Monday due to an invasion by bandits.
Daily Trust was told that the bandits operated in the affected communities from 11 am until 5 pm, rustling cattle belonging to residents. It was also gathered that some children who were catching fish by the river were taken away by the bandits, while one farmer was reportedly shot around Dusai village.
Our correspondent gathered that residents of Ragada and adjoining communities are currently taking refuge in Gulbin-Boka, also in Mariga LGA.
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Ibrahim Ayuba Ragada told Daily Trust that he trekked about 20 km with his pregnant wife to escape the attack. “We trekked about 20km with my wife who is seven months pregnant from Ragada to Gulbin-Boka. And this is her first pregnancy. They came from Kumbashi and followed through Kakihum and moved to Sarkin-Dutse and several other communities, all in Mariga LGA. They rustled a lot of cattle belonging to farmers. On their way, they met some children catching fish by the river. They went with them. They also killed one farmer around Dusai village,” he said.
Larai, a mother of six children and another fleeing resident from Ragada, told Daily Trust that she had to carry two of her children on her back and shoulder to cross the water to escape from the attackers due to the small number of canoes available.
“We suffered a lot on our way to Gulbin-Boka. Some people used canoes to cross the river. We don’t have food. It was one good Samaritan that gave us N800 with which we bought gari worth of N600 and kuli-kuli worth of N150. We need support with food and soaps with which we can take baths,” she said.
Locals want end to banditry
Also speaking, Amina, from Ragada, told Daily Trust via telephone that she trekked to the IDP camp hungry. “We hadn’t had our breakfast when bandits came. We had to run for our lives without anything. My children are crying and we don’t have food. We are appealing to the government to find a lasting solution to this banditry.”
Seven-year-old Rabiu also told Daily Trust that he nearly drowned in the water while crossing due to a lack of canoes. A 13-year-old, Zairu, shared a similar experience crossing the river to escape from the bandits.
Samaila from Mazami village told our correspondent that nobody was left in his community as everybody had fled. “There is nobody in our community now. When they came, they were about to cordon off our communities when we fled. They also went to Sabon-Wuri,” he added.
He said, “We don’t even know what to do. We have all fled our homes without any food. We can’t talk of farming now. We are after our lives. As I speak with you, I don’t know where my family is. Everybody is carrying his own cross to escape.”
When contacted, the Commissioner for Homeland Security, Brigadier General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (rtd), confirmed the attack. He said security operatives had taken control of the situation.
Relatedly, residents of Ndanaku, a community in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, have deserted the place over bandits’ attacks. The attack is coming a few weeks after a similar development in Babanla, Ifelodun Local Government Area.
The development comes in the wake of the recent arrest of the leader of Mahmuda and Ansar, two kingpins who have terrorized Kwara, Niger, and neighboring states. The government has recorded some successes in the southern parts of the state following recent attacks until the latest development. It was not clear whether the latest attack is linked to the Mahmuda group or its affiliates.
Locals said about 1,000 people have relocated in the latest attack from Ndanaku and neighboring villages, which climaxed on Saturday. It was gathered that Mari, Dina, Kakafu, Lile, Edogi, Chapa, Yekosa, Patigi, Gadaworo, Lalagi, and Kanworo among others were affected.
A viral video on the development showed a narrator who said he sneaked into the town after the attack, capturing the deserted settlement. According to him, in the 5-minute, 41-second clip, “Everybody has left the community following persistent attacks which have been devastating.”
“This community has about one thousand residents but now not a single one is left because of the attacks by bandits and kidnappers day after day. Three of our members are in their custody and they are demanding hundreds of millions to feed their captives. Our church has a capacity of over one thousand people but nobody is there now despite today being Sunday. About ten days ago, people were running for their lives and some came into the community during the day at times to take care of their farm produce, but now you cannot even go to the farm as they will come and kidnap you, demanding a ransom of several hundreds of millions,” the narrator said.
He pleaded with the state government, the local government chairman, and the federal government to intervene to save their lives and livelihoods. “Many of our farm produce due for harvest cannot be harvested because of the fear of being kidnapped on the farm. The bandits will kill you if you refuse to follow them, and the contrast is that we cannot afford the ransom being demanded. How do they want us to survive? For about fifteen days now, they have been terrorizing us and eliminated some people last month.
“But the situation is worse now with several people killed in their attacks and valuables stolen. Anybody that buys a new motorcycle in the village is in trouble because they will place such a person under surveillance and monitor his movements. They are in the bush and come to attack us with sophisticated weapons which we do not have, so how can we confront them,” he added.
Farmers left because of incessant attacks
Speaking on the issue on Monday night, a resident of Ndanaku, James Ibrahim, said the situation still remains the same with many of the villages deserted because of the attacks. He said farmers have also left because of the incessant attacks.
James, who said he could not give the exact number of settlements and people affected, explained that about seven villages are presently under siege. “In some villages, they took away three people, some two, and in others one. The farmers can no longer go to the farm because of the attacks and have run to towns and cities,” he said.
He added that the government was yet to take action. According to him, the last attack was three days ago and about five people have been kidnapped from Ndanaku so far, with several ransom demands. “We do not know if it is one or more than one group, but they have been kidnapping for some time now,” he said.
He said Ndanaku, before now, used to be a community that received visitors from across the state and even from other states. “It has been a while since we started noticing strange people around but we never knew they were in for this kind of thing. We called the attention of the authorities to it. These bandits are still in the forest and they attacked a man going to the farm three days ago. The whole village is deserted now except for some of the Fulani folks who come around to enjoy themselves and leave,” he said.
He added that “Most of the victims are now in Patigi town and Lade, which was attacked lately when some men went to the house of one of the residents and shot him and his son dead. Except we have a quick intervention from the government, we do not know when we are going to return to our village. The soldiers are only stationed in Patigi and are yet to be deployed to the community. What the community needs now is supervised security that will be stationed here because the place is a border town with Kogi State with lots of criminal hideouts. They are really consuming us and our resources,” he added.
A vigilante commander, Commander Gina Gana, who also confirmed the incident, said there were two coordinated attacks three days ago, with everybody deserting the community.
Everything being done to eliminate all security threats – Gov AbdulRazaq
Last week, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq held a meeting with some Ifelodun stakeholders, detailing their efforts to address insecurity. Acknowledging constant collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser and all security agencies, the governor said everything is being done to eliminate all security threats in the state, including in Ifelodun, Patigi, and Edu.
“I assure you of our efforts to eliminate the threats. As we work together to make our communities safer, I want to advise that investments may be affected if we don’t strike a balance in how we project our communities to the outside world,” he said.
The chairman of the local government, Hadji Femi Yusuf, said, “after chasing these criminals away, we need to also get their promoters and informants.”
Elder Oyin Zubair, one of those who spoke on behalf of the delegation, urged the government to support those affected in the recent incidents, expressing confidence that the recent security deployment would permanently restore calm.
Meanwhile, a government statement on Monday night said dozens of criminals implicated in recent breaches in Ifelodun have fallen to a coordinated fire power of security forces, according to multiple security sources. It said in an operation that began on Sunday night through Monday morning, the security forces and vigilantes launched a renewed campaign to flush the criminals out of their hideouts around Baba Sango and Oro River, near Babanla in Ifelodun Local Government Area.
A source added that “As security forces made inroads into their hideouts, they launched a feeble ambush which was immediately resisted by the security agents. Many of the criminals were killed in the process. No death was recorded on the part of the security forces. Those who were injured are already being attended to.”
Another source said air assets are also being deployed as part of the operation.