Residents of Felegi community in Mashegu Local Council of Niger State were thrown into fear on Sunday, September 6, when armed bandits attacked the community in an attempt to abduct residents.

The attackers, who reportedly arrived in large numbers, succeeded in kidnapping some residents before local vigilantes engaged them in a gun battle.

During the confrontation, the vigilantes reportedly killed one of the bandits, although the attackers managed to escape with some abducted residents.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the community remained unsafe but residents had little choice but to stay because they had nowhere else to go.

“I want to confirm that our community is not safe at all, but we have no choice because there is nowhere to go. That is why we remain here,” the resident said.

The resident explained that relocating to an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp was not considered a viable option, while moving to the towns would require money to rent accommodation and start a new life.

“We are farmers and we have no other business. If we move to the town, we will have to rent houses, but we don’t have the money,” the resident added.

He said the vigilantes responded quickly when the bandits attacked.

“When the bandits attacked our community, the vigilantes engaged them and one of the bandits was killed.

However, they still succeeded in kidnapping some of our people,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, the Niger State Police Command and the state government had yet to issue an official statement on the attack.