Dozens of villagers were said to have been kidnapped and unconfirmed number of cattle whisked away as armed bandits stormed Gwada community, in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The incident, it was gathered, occurred in the area about 20km away from Minna, the State capital, on Saturday afternoon, where a police officer and four other persons were killed.
The other persons that lost their lives in the attack include two women and two children, all members of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, taking refuge at the Gwada IDPs camp displaced from Zumba area of the Council.
A source in Gwada revealed that the victims lost their lives when the vehicle they were traveling in was shot at by the bandits in their bid to stop it.
However, the source said the policeman died during a gun fire exchange between the Joint Security Taskforce and the gunmen.
According to the source,” during the fierce battle by the two sides, one police personnel was killed, as well as one of the gunmen. Many of the bandits ran away with bullet wounds and six motorcycles belonging to the gunmen have been recovered”.
