Tears in Niger Communities as Bandits Return Bodies of 25 Abducted Villagers<\/p>\n
There was sorrow and despair in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State following the recovery of the decomposing bodies of 25 villagers allegedly killed by bandits after weeks in captivity.<\/p>\n
The victims were among hundreds of residents abducted during an August 21 attack on several communities in the area.<\/p>\n
Residents said the bandits contacted the communities on Monday and directed them to go into the bush to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.<\/p>\n
Communities affected include Dekara, Kpenya, Sabon-Gida, Gidan-Zana and others, where no fewer than 25 bodies were recovered and given mass burial in a nearby bush.<\/p>\n
A community source disclosed that the victims were allegedly killed and their bodies abandoned to decompose before relatives were asked to retrieve them. The bandits were also said to have threatened to kill other captives still in their custody if their ransom demands were not met.<\/p>\n
The development has plunged the area into mourning and heightened anxiety among families whose relatives remain in captivity. Some of those abducted were women and children, including infants.<\/p>\n
A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said families were devastated and fearful about the fate of those still held.<\/p>\n
According to him, the abductors initially demanded N10 million per captive before reducing it to N5 million, an amount the predominantly farming communities said they cannot afford.<\/p>\n
“They asked each family to bring N10 million for each captive. Later, they reduced it to N5 million, but there is no way that we can afford it. We don’t know what will happen to the rest of the people that are still being held,” he said.<\/p>\n
The incident comes despite assurances by security authorities that efforts were being intensified to rescue the abductees.<\/p>\n
About two weeks ago, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Tunji Disu, during a visit to Niger State, said the police, in collaboration with other security agencies, were intensifying efforts to secure their release.<\/p>\n
The police also deployed the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 7, Abuja, AIG Victor Olaiya, alongside tactical teams to support rescue operations.<\/p>\n
However, almost a month after the mass abduction, many families are still awaiting the return of their loved ones.<\/p>\n
Chairman of Borgu Local Government Area, Nasir Mohammed, described the killings as heartbreaking, inhuman and wicked.<\/p>\n
“This is inhumane and wicked. I lack words to describe this horrifying incident. The entire people of Borgu Kingdom are devastated by the killing of these innocent people,” Mohammed said.<\/p>\n
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Niger State Police Command nor the state government had issued a statement on the reported recovery and mass burial(Daily Sun)<\/p>\n
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Tears in Niger Communities as Bandits Return Bodies of 25 Abducted Villagers There was sorrow and despair in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State following the recovery of the decomposing bodies of 25 villagers allegedly killed by bandits after weeks in captivity. The victims were among hundreds of residents abducted during an August 21 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":152320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[264,3472,3471],"class_list":["post-152318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-others","tag-bandits","tag-borgu-local-government-area","tag-decomposing-bodies"],"yoast_head":"\n