The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Paiko, Headquarters of Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State, Mukhtar Abbas and four other  policemen have been killed by bandits in Niger state.

The police officers were killed in gun duel with bandits that attempted to attack some communities around Gurara Local Government Area on Saturday, February 11, 2023.

The spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, who confirmed the tragedy in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday however said some of the bandits were neutralised.

According to Abiodun, the Police has already sent a reinforcement team to the scene and recovered the bodies of the deceased personnel. 

He said the command had condoled with the families of the affected personnel, before  reassuring members of the public that the Command will not relent in the fight against banditry and other criminalities  in the State.

At about 1100hrs, information was received that armed bandits were sighted around Kwakuti-Dajigbe villages area of Lambata, in an attempt to attack some communities around Gurara LGA,? he stated. 

“Combined teams of police from Gawu-Babangida Div and Paiko Div, military, and vigilante members were drafted to the scene, the hoodlums were engaged in a gun duel and repelled with scores of them being neutralized, while others escaped with bullet injuries,? he added. 

In a related development, the PPRO said at about 3pm on Friday  suspected armed bandits/insurgents attempted to attack the Chibani village market via Sarkin-Pawa, in Munya Local Government Area. 

He said the Police tactical teams and vigilante members were mobilized to the market where the hoodlums were routed and successfully repelled without any havoc, though the situation caused some panic but normalcy was restored.

Meanwhile, a commercial driver who ply Minna-Abuja, Adamu Usman, told Daily Trust that bandits in their numbers blocked Minna-Abuja road around 10am on Saturday for several hours, forcing many travellers to return home.

“Yesterday in our parks in Minna and Jabi, Abuja, passengers were scarce because when people heard what happened, many people went back home. Before I could get passengers from Minna to Abuja yesterday, it was around 1pm. Our colleagues who were caught on road said bandits were in large numbers somewhere around Kwakuti with hundreds of cattle. So, they had to return to Minna and from there, many passengers postponed their journeys. I did not leave until I heard that they had crossed to the other side. If you had gone to Jabi park yesterday, you wouldn?t have seen many passengers going to Minna.? he said.