Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed at least five soldiers and two villagers in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The gunmen reportedly abducted over 10 persons, stole seven motorcycles and burnt down military vehicles in attacks which happened on Wednesday and early hours of Thursday.
The communities attacked by the bandits are Allawa, Manta, Gurmana, Bassa and Kokki in Shiroro Local Government Area.
Daily Trust gathered that the bandits stormed the camp of the Joint Security Task Force comprising of the Army, Police, Civil Defence and Vigilantes at Allawa and opened fire on them.
An officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was also killed in the attack while many security personnel sustained injuries.
Residents said the bandits attacked Manta, Gurmana and Bassa villages on Wednesday, where they killed one Alhaji Sale in Madalla community and kidnapped four people.
While confirming the incidents, President Shiroro Youth Movement, Mohammed Sani Idris, said the bandits numbering about 100 were armed with AK47.
He said they attacked the communities for about five hours unchallenged.
“Also, in Kokki Boddo, a community under Gurmana ward, they abducted six persons and took away five motorcycles, five people were also kidnapped in Manta ward,” he said.
Idris appealed to both the federal and state governments to double up their effort in rescuing people at the various communities.
Efforts to get the police reaction to the incident proved abortive as the public relations officer of the command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, neither picked calls nor replied text messages as at the time of filing this report