8 LGAs under siege as bandits kill, rape in Niger state

Of the 25 Local Government Areas, LGAs, in Niger State, eight are under the siege of bandits.

Bandits invade communities at will, killing, maiming, burning down houses, and dispossessing residents of their valuables.

The affected LGAs are Shiroro, Rafi, Munya, Tafa, Lapai,Borgu, Marisa and Paikoro.

The criminal acts had started years back with little or no action by concerned authorities.
Before now, the perpetrators had concentrated on cattle rustling.

However, in the past few months, the situation has taken a new dimension as bandits now kill residents of communities they attack.

Raping, maiming
Also, maiming and raping of women, children and the aged are now the order of the day.
The guts with which they operate leaves everyone surprised and worried.

In large numbers, they storm villages in broad daylight in a convoy of motorcycles with no fewer than two people on each.

They wield dangerous weapons including sophisticated guns, bows, and arrows among others.
They unleash terror on anybody found on their way as they move from house to house.

The terrain leading to most of the communities are not motorable, hence the use of motorcycles by the bandits.

Though federal, state and local governments had jointly intervened by beefing up security in affected areas, the gesture is yet to yield any good results as the killings continue unabated.