Bandits kidnap 4 construction workers in Niger

By JOHN ADAMS, Minna

Four construction workers with Tractia Construction Company have abducted in Erena in Shiroro local government area of Niger state.

The four staff, an Assistant Chief Technical Officer, Abubakar Ibrahim Sadiq and three others were picked from the site by heavily armed bandits on Wednesday at about 11:00am.

One of the foreign Expatriates whose name could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report was given a chase of his life by bandits but managed to escaped to safety.

He was said to have knocked down and killed a goat instantly with his Hilux Van while escaping from the bandits.

They were working on the construction of the 65 kilometers Zumba-Erena road being undertaking by the state government when the incidence occurred.

The bandits numbering about 60 and in their usual motorcycles, had earlier blocked all the entry routes into the communities to prevent the people from escaping.

The villagers, according to our source, on hearing that the bandits had taken over the communities, trek some kilometers through the bush pact to be able to escaped into hiding, with majority of them currently taking refuge in one of the many IDP camps in Zumba primary school.

The communities said they did not know the mission of the bandits this time around as no casualty was recorded throughout the three hours that the siege lasted except the abduction of the workers.

“Nobody could go to market today from these three communities because they blocked every road in and out as people scrambled for safety”, adding that all the vehicles that were heading to Zumba market today were forced to make u-turn and are currently parked at Erena town.

Although it was gathered from the communities that a helicopter belonging to one of the security outfits was hovering round the areas during the siege, no single strike was carried out on the bandits target.

It could be recalled that the bandits in the last two weeks, changed their direction and had focused their attacks on communities in Rafi local government area.

When contacted, permanent secretary ministry of work Mallam Abubakar Balarebe confirmed the abduction but said “we are on top of the situation”

When asked if the Kidnappers have demanded any ransom, he said, “this is not an issue we discuss on telephone. We are handling the matter”. (Saturday Sun)