Mass gang-rape of women, girls by bandits in Niger communities

By JOHN ADAM, Minna

A raid on Monday by armed bandits in Shiroro, Niger State resulted in the mass gang-rape of women and girls across five communities, reports say.

The affected communities include Dnasa , Iburo, Pelele, Gofa and Nakogbe.

Every woman or girl sighted by the bandits was reportedly dragged to her room and raped in broad daylight.

‘They came and asked me that where is my husband and I told them that he has gone to the farm, and the next thing, two of them just dragged me inside and asked me to remove my clothes,’ one of the victims told our correspondent on phone through a local source.

‘I started begging them and one of them hit me with a gun and I fell down and he began to rape me, his second also did the same thing.’

She said many women were raped in Pelele, including young girls, adding that ‘they told us that they would kill any woman who refused to obey them.’

The victim disclosed that in some instances, mother and daughter were raped simultaneously by the armed bandits, whose age, our source said, ranged between 25 and 30.

According to our source, the bandits had come to abduct the men of the community but decided to rape the women and girls when they learned their menfolk had gone to their farms.

About 30 women and girls were sexually assaulted, with two to three bandits to a victim, according to our source.

The attackers raided one community after the other in their motorcycles.

After the atrocities, on their way out of the communities, the bandits were said to have abducted some of the men seen in their farms.

They are reportedly still being held by the raiders.

Neighbouring communities are in the grip of dread and anxiety following the attacks, with no one knowing which community would be hit next.

There has been no statement from authorities on the attacks that have left many of the affected women and girls traumatised. (Text excluding headline, courtesy Daily Sun)