By 247ureports.com
Residents of Gadan Oli community in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State reportedly confronted bandits who invaded the town on Tuesday night, between the Maghrib and Isha’i prayers, rescuing two kidnapped people, killing one of the attackers and capturing two others alive, according to local sources cited in a social media post.
The account says the attackers fired sporadically to frighten people, but residents stood their ground and fought back. 247ureports.com could not independently confirm the incident. Neither the Niger State Police Command nor the military had commented, no outlet I could find had reported it, and the post does not name its sources, give the number of attackers or say who the rescued people were or where the captured suspects are being held.
The report comes from one of the most troubled corners of the state. Borgu has been hit by repeated mass abductions since August, when attacks on several communities on August 21 left dozens dead and hundreds taken, with community groups estimating that nearly 700 people were still held a month later. Residents protested in New Bussa on September 21 over the slow pace of rescue, and the local government chairman has said at least 25 captives were killed and their bodies returned to their families. Seven of the area’s ten wards have been reported affected by insecurity, and some markets have shut.
Against that background, an account of villagers repelling an attack will draw interest, and it also raises questions the post does not address, including how armed the residents were, whether they were backed by vigilantes or security agencies, and what will happen to the two captured suspects, who should be handed to the police. The Federal Government has ordered a manhunt for the attackers in the area, and the police have said clearance operations were intensified in the Borgu axis.
