For the people of Munya Local Government Area of Niger State, peace is a scarce commodity, as they now live in fear of attacks from gunmen, who are yet to be identified. They have been under siege from heavily armed hoodlums, who unleash terror on them at will. The siege is already taking a heavy toll on their psyche.
The boundary they share with Kaduna and Zamfara states is the source of their problem; the thick forest in between is gradually becoming a nightmare to them as these bandits many times commit crimes in these states and run into the forest or the local government area to seek refuge.
Some weeks ago, the bandits kidnapped two women in Kaduna area of the border villages, demanding for N10 million ransom from the relations of the kidnap victims. The husband of one of the women, the suspected kidnappers alleged, was a police informant. A man and his wife were recently shot on their way to Munya town, while the hoodlums had also stolen 1, 300 cattle within the last couple of months.
These criminal elements, who are said to be among bandits dislodged from Zamfara and Kaduna states, are said to be perpetrating robberies, kidnappings, cattle rustling and other heinous crimes in the area. They operate with sophisticated weapons such as pump action guns, AK 47 rifles, rocket launchers, machine guns, among others.
When our correspondent went to see the vigilante team regarding the security suituation in the council, there was palpable fear and tension in the air as another attack was said to be looming; even the driver who took the correspondent, said the attackers can come at any moment; he was in a hurry to go back.
Accordingto some of the residents in one of the communities, the gunmen usually launch attacks at least once every fortnight, during which they rob and kidnap some of their victims. The situation, they lamented, had become unbearable to them.
The head of vigilante team, Saleh Mohammed, said his team and other security agents had been on standby for some days as they noticed some suspicious movements in the forest and they were not willing to take chances.
“We have noticed some of these bandits in Chuku local government area and we are now on surveillance to see if they will advance or not. Our communities are under threat of attacks. These gunmen have vowed to eradicate our communities.