Death toll rises in Niger attack, residents say 66 people buried

The death toll from Thursday’s attack on Madaka, a community in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, has risen to 66, residents said.

Residents said the local vigilantes found many bodies in the forest after the armed bandits withdrew from the community.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that 21 people were killed after the well-armed bandits entered the village shooting sporadically before embarking on an orgy of killings, arson, and abduction.

The district head of the area, Isah Bawale, also told our reporter that properties worth millions of naira were destroyed by the marauding terrorists.

The state’s Commissioner for Security, Bello Mohammed, a retired army general, confirmed the incident and said the government was working to protect farming communities in the state.

Officials in the North-central state remained uncertain about the casualty figures days after the carnage.

Residents, however, said some of the injured people taken to an hospital in Kagara, the headquarters of Rafi LGA, died, while more bodies were found in the bush.

Over a dozen injured residents were still receiving treatment at various health facilities as of Sunday morning, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

The attack is the deadliest in several years since bandits began operating in the area, a source said, asking for confidentiality for security reasons.

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“The attacks first occurred violence began at ‘Kampanin Makada’ on Tuesday where some vigilante members allegedly rustled cows belonging to some herders and killed several bandits. Subsequently, the police arrested some of the vigilante members who are still in detention,” the source added.

But two days after the incident, the bandits on Thursday launched a “shoot-to-kill mission” on Madaka, the resident added.

Like other communities in Rafi LGA sharing boundaries with troubled Birnin Gwari and Dansadau Emirate in Zamfara State, Madaka had suffered attacks for several years.

Residents said bandits attacked the community some years ago and killed a senior traditional official as they did in the latest attack.