The Niger Police Command has confirmed the abduction of 15 people by armed men in the Kulho village of the Mashegu local government area in the state.
Police spokesman in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed this in a statement in Minna on Sunday.
Mr. Abioudun, deputy superintendent of police, said that on January 14, around 2 am, suspected bandits attacked Kulho village, a remote community across Ibbi in Mashegu, and kidnapped 15 people.
Mr. Abiodun also explained that on the same day, around 1 am, suspected bandits/terrorists entered Mashegu village through Jigawa and stole an undetermined number of cattle.
He said a police team had been dispatched to the area to search and rescue the kidnapped victims.
“We ask for the support of local residents to provide reliable information that could help stop bad guys,” he said.
The state of Niger, in the north-central part of the country, has been subject to frequent attacks by bandits who kidnap people for ransom and kill them with reckless abandon.
In the context of the incessant acts of banditry in the state, President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday approved the deployment of more military operations in the state to contain the bandits.
In addition to Niger state, states like Kaduna and Zamfara also remain a hotbed of bandits that have become almost uncontrollable despite the efforts of the country’s armed forces to combat them.
(YAYA)