The Niger State Government has urged the Nigerian Army to deploy troops to communities under siege by bandits following a series of deadly attacks. Acting governor Yakubu Garba made the appeal on Saturday during the Fida’u prayer for 13 farmers who were killed by bandits in the Shiroro Local Government Area.
The farmers were ambushed while working in Anguwan village. Nine were shot dead on the spot, while four were taken to another location and executed. Garba emphasized that the withdrawal of troops from areas like Allawa had severely hampered efforts to combat insecurity in the state, urging the military to return and provide security cover, especially for farming communities.
Garba also noted that the Bago administration had made strides in restoring safety along key roads in the Shiroro council, but the recent attacks targeted displaced farmers who had left Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps to return to their fields.
Relatives of the victims expressed their grief, with Isah Allawa, a father of one of the slain farmers, describing how the bandits separated villagers by origin before killing those from Allawa. Another widow, Murjanatu Musa, who lost her son in the attack, revealed that her husband had also been killed by bandits in 2023.
