In yet another brutal assault on rural communities in Niger State, heavily armed bandits believed to be over 100 in number launched coordinated attacks on three villages in Munya Local Government Area on Tuesday, leaving dozens feared dead, hundreds displaced, and properties destroyed.
The targeted communities—Zagzaga, Chibani, and Kuchi—were invaded in the early evening hours, between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., with attackers arriving on motorcycles and moving unhindered from one settlement to the next. Residents say the bandits looted food items, rustled over 200 cattle, set houses ablaze, and shot indiscriminately.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as entire families fled into the bush. “They came in large numbers, riding on motorcycles, heavily armed. We were helpless,” one survivor told our reporter. “People were running in every direction. We don’t know how many have been killed.”
Tragically, a security outpost belonging to the Joint Security Task Force in Kuchi was also set ablaze. Security operatives were said to have evacuated the post upon learning of the overwhelming number of attackers. A body believed to be one of the bandits was found abandoned in a nearby bush, though the cause of death remains unclear.
Sources revealed that the gunmen had converged earlier in Kusasu, a village in neighboring Shiroro Local Government Area, just hours before the attack. Local informants reportedly raised an alarm and attempted to alert authorities in Minna, but no action was taken before the raid began.
“They were in the bush for over five hours before launching the attack. Everyone saw them, but they were too many. We tried to notify the authorities, but nothing was done,” a resident said.
Efforts to reach the Chairman of Munya Local Government, Hon. Aminu Najume, were unsuccessful as all his phone lines were switched off.
However, Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Maj.-Gen. Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (rtd), confirmed knowledge of the incident but stated that he was yet to receive full details.
Reacting to the attack, Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication, Media and Strategy, Hon. Jonathan Vatsa, condemned the violence, calling it “barbaric, wicked, and inhuman.”
He lamented that despite the state government’s efforts to improve security, attacks on innocent communities have continued unabated. He attributed the persistent violence to the activities of local informants who sabotage security operations and frustrate ongoing interventions.
Vatsa assured residents that the government remains committed to restoring peace and will not relent in its war against banditry and other forms of insecurity across the state.