Gunmen Kill Eight, Abduct Bride In Niger

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Eight persons have been killed and a bride abducted while several others severely injured as gunmen attacked over 10 communities in Niger State on Saturday night.

The gunmen who were said to be numbering over 100 invaded the communities sacking residents in Lavun Local Government Area of the state.

A resident of Ndakogitu community who prefers to be anonymous said the bandits also attacked a wedding ceremony where they abducted the bride and another girl.

“They came into our community and went to the venue of a wedding, they stole all the monies realized at the wedding ceremony, including other valuables were also snatched.

“The rampaging gunmen also said to have rustle a number of cattle belonging to the villagers.”

The attack which lasted all through Saturday night to Sunday displaced over 5,000 persons.

According to a source who spoke to our correspondent, the terrorists went to different communities shooting at residents who were scampering for safety.

After the attacks, the terrorists were said to have left with rustled cattle but were unable to escape with them as the only bridge linking the community with Akare had collapsed leaving them with no option but to abandon the cattle and escape.

The vigilance group in the communities however mobilized themselves and confronted the bandits who eventually killed six of the locals as a result of them being ill-equipped.

The attack have however forced the people in the affected communities to flee their homes, while those who had earlier gone to the nearby market at Batati have not return home for fear of being attacked by the gunmen.

When contacted, the state’s Commissioner for Local Government and Internal Security, Emmanuel Umar, confirmed the latest attacks but said he was yet to get the details of the incident.

Some of the communities attacked includes Egbako, Ndaruka, Ebbo, Ndagbegi, Tshogi, Gogata and Ndakogitu, all in Lavun local government.