Anxiety as gunmen kill PDP chieftain, seven others in Niger

A ward leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in Kampala village, Bosso Local Government Area of Niger State, Ahmodu Mohammed, has been killed by some bandits who also abducted his three daughters.

Seven persons were also reportedly killed in Kusasu in the Shiroro LGA on Friday night, while several houses of those who escaped the attacks were set ablaze by the hoodlums.

Those killed in Kusasu included two women and four men. They were said to have fled the attack and hid in the bush but were traced by the bandits and shot dead.

A source in one of the communities told our correspondent that a man said to be the driver of the bandits was arrested by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Shiroro on Friday.

However, in Kampala, the killing of the PDP ward leader, on Thursday, came after three attempts on his life by the bandits who had raided some other villages before coming to Kampala.

A family member of the deceased told our correspondent on the phone that Mohammed was killed after two hours of intense battle with the bandits.

“This was the third time the bandits had attacked him. They didn’t succeed in the first two attacks because the man was very powerful,” the source stated.

However, condemnations have continued to trail the continued onslaught by bandits across the state, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

A former PDP Chairman in the state, Tanko Beji, described Mohammed’s killing as unfortunate, saying people were no longer safe in their houses.

Beji said neither the government nor security agencies was doing enough to curb the attacks.

The Senator Representing Niger East Senatorial District, Sani Musa, said the attacks were a declaration of war against the harmless residents. Punch