After Troops’ Exit, Bandits Loot Abandoned Niger Villages

Three days after the closure of the army camp and withdrawal of troops from Allawa Community in Shiroro local government area of Niger State, bandits have raided empty villages carting away valuables including food items in trailers unhindered.
Last Friday, LEADERSHIP reported that the army camp in Allawa was dismantled and the soldiers guarding the bandit-ravaged community evacuated, leaving the area vulnerable to bandits’ attack.
It was learnt yesterday that bandits ransacked the entire community, carting away foodstuffs, cattle and other animals the villagers left behind at a camp in Erena Primary School.

Sources hinted that there were two camps of bandits and another operating under the umbrella of Boko Haram.
Some of the villagers who spoke to LEADERSHIP on conditions of anonymity said both groups entered Allawa and the adjoining communities yesterday morning and carted away all the available valuables.

The chairman of Shiroro local government area, Akilu Isyaku Kuta, confirmed the attack to LEADERSHIP via a telephone interview.
He said the bandits and Boko Haram elements operating hand-in-hand invaded the villages and carted away the villagers’ property.

Kuta said even in the remaining camps the villagers were still living in fear, adding that it was expected that when the soldiers left there would have been air surveillance but the community was still open to the attacks of the terrorists.

He said the pressure is on the camps in Erena and the people are getting more agitated on a daily basis because of their present uncertain conditions.