Bandits have launched a deadly attack in Palaita community, Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting 24 people, including pregnant women, from a rice farm. The attackers struck around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday while residents were harvesting crops, escaping with the victims despite the community’s proximity to a military base.
Earlier on the same day, another group of armed men invaded Kakuru community in Erena Ward, where they brutalised a blind resident, severing his right hand after taking a mobile phone that belonged to a neighbour. The victim is currently receiving first aid at a local patent medicine shop in Kuduru community.
The Niger State Police Command, through Public Relations Officer Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incidents and said efforts are ongoing to rescue the abducted victims. This latest attack follows a recent spate of kidnappings, including the abduction of over 300 students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, highlighting a worsening security crisis across northern Nigeria.
