Gunmen kill three vigilante members, kidnap several in Niger community
Three members of a vigilante group have been killed while some were injured in an attack on Kpada community in Lapai area of Niger State.
A resident of Kpada, Musa Hussaini, said the incident occurred on Friday afternoon, adding that a yet-to-be-identified number of residents were kidnapped.
He stated that the bandits attacked while the locals were on their farms working, noting that the attackers burnt down a tractor the farmers were using.
Hussain said that after the attack, the bandits proceeded to the forest with their victims, which led to the vigilante group members chasing after them.
He added that in the process of the search and rescue mission to the forest embarked upon by the security men, the three, including their commander, were killed. It was reliably gathered that three different helicopters were in the last one month seen going round of air around Kpada before the attacks.
At the time of filing this report, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached.
The Commissioner for Internal Security Emmanuel Umar confirmed the incident, advising that members of the community should not go after the bandits in the forest.
He also said the security agents will help recover the bodies of those slain people. (Saturday PUNCH)
