Scores Abducted In Niger Village, Others Flee To Benin Republic

Armed men suspected to be Bandits have attacked Konkonso village twice this week, forcing the villagers to take refuge in a neighbouring town in the Benin Republic.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the people of the village were attacked yesterday, and a few people in the area were abducted.

It was learnt that the villagers, after the first attack, fled to Segbana, a town in the Benin Republic, which has borders with Niger and Kebbi states.

A Youth Leader from the village, Abdullah Ahmed, told LEADERSHIP that “they came with about

70 motorcycles and they were about 200, they burnt down the remaining houses that were not set ablaze during their first operation”.

“Our people fled the village after the first attack, so most of them are now in Segbana, a big town in the Benin Republic, which has a border with Niger state and Kebbi. The few people left behind were all abducted; nobody is in the village now”, he added.

According to him, the terrorists have stationed their operations in Konkonso village to attack other villages, and there was no security presence in the area.

The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Niger state command, Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached, but a top Niger state government official, who preferred anonymity, said the government was not unaware of the coordinated attack in the area, and a military operation should commence in the area.