Bandits kill three, abduct top military officer in Niger, demand N50 ransom

***Nine villagers also abducted as
Mina-Kontagora highway is blocked

Barely 24 hours after the Niger state house assembly raised the alarm over the occupation of a military training camp at the Nagwamase military cantonment in Kontagora, Niger state, a top military officer serving in the cantonment has been abducted by bandits.

The military officer, according a reliable source was abducted on Wednesday from his farm around the bush where bandits were said to be occupying.

According to our source, the abductors of the military officer have demanded N50million ransom for the release of the officer
Also the bandits abducted nine persons from Masaha in madera ward, one of the 23 communities that have been sacked due to the activities of the bandits.
All the nine men were reported to have been kidnapped by the bandits from their farms.

It was gathered that, three out of the nine people abducted were killed midway in their journey and their bodies left in the bush.

Ibrahim Enagi, the eldest son of one the victims, late Alhaji Alhassan Usman Enagi, told our correspondent that his late father was abducted on his way back from the farm.

According to him, “my father was shot by the bandits after he complained that he was tired and could not continue the journey. Three of them were killed and their bodies abandoned in the bush.

“it was those who managed to escaped from the bandits that came to tell us that my father and two other persons were killed because they complained of tiredness during the journey in the bush”, he added.

Meanwhile, the bandits numbering well over 50 were said to have blocked the Minna-Kontagpra highway on Thursday as motorists and commuters scamper for their lives.

According to our source, the bandits blocked the highway about 15 kilometers from Kontagora and operated for over one hour.
The Detail of their operation is not yet known as at the time of filing this report.

It would be recalled that a member of the statehouse of assembly, representing Kontagora 11, Hon. Abdullahi Isah on Wednesday on the floor of the house raised the alarm that the bandits have taken over the military training camp in Kontagora.

He also alerted the house that about 23 communities within the training camp have been forced to abandon their homes due to the activities of the gunmen.