Bandits Kill DPO, 4 Other Officers In Niger State
- Block motorists, vehicles along Minna-Abuja road
In a series of deadly attacks at the weekend, gunmen suspected to be bandits killed the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Paiko Police Division, Superintendent of Police (SP) Mukhtar Sabiu, and four other Police personnel in Niger State.
Reports indicated that the unfortunate incident occurred in Paiko, which is the headquarters of Paikoro Local Government Area (LGA) of the State and the victims were among the officers drafted to repel the bandits along Kwakuti village, Minna-Suleja road on Saturday.
According to the Public Relations Officer, Niger State Police Command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, the DPO and his men were killed in a gun battle with the bandits who attempted to attack the Chibani village market via Sarkin-Pawa in Munya Local Government Area of the State.
DSP Abiodun said in a statement that; “At about 1100hrs, information was received that armed bandits were sighted around Kwakuti-Dajigbe villages area of Lambata, in an attempt to attack some communities around Gurara LGA.
“Combined teams of police from Gawu-Babangida Div and Paiko Div, military, and vigilante members were drafted to the scene, the hoodlums were engaged in a gun duel and repelled with scores of them being neutralized, while others escaped with bullet injuries”
An eyewitness account from a commercial driver, who plies Minna-Abuja route, Adamu Usman, revealed that bandits in their numbers blocked Minna-Abuja road around 10am on Saturday for several hours, forcing many travellers to return home.
Adamu said; “Yesterday in our parks in Minna and Jabi in Abuja, passengers were scarce because when people heard what happened, many people went back home. Before I could get passengers from Minna to Abuja yesterday, it was around 1pm.
“Our colleagues who were caught on road said bandits were in large numbers somewhere around Kwakuti with hundreds of cattle. So, they had to return to Minna and from there, many passengers postponed their journeys.
“I did not leave until I heard that they had crossed to the other side. If you had gone to Jabi park yesterday, you wouldn’t have seen many passengers going to Minna”.
Also, it was gathered that bandits attempted to attack Chibani market in Munya Local Government Area, on Friday but where repelled by a joint team of security operatives.
A resident, who didn’t want his name mentioned, disclosed that te bandits also invaded Zazzaga community of Munya Local Government Area, causing panic, especially in communities of Mutun Daya where there was weekly market.
He said more people had continued to flee their Communities in the last few weeks due to constant movement of bandits around Munya, Paikoro and Shiroro Local Government Areas. – With additional reports from Daily Trust
