Gunmen Torch Police Station, Church in Fresh Niger Raid, Abduct Five Residents

Suspected bandits have launched another deadly raid on Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, setting fire to a divisional police station and a church, and abducting at least five residents in the early hours of Sunday.

The coordinated attack, which began in the early morning, saw the assailants overpower security operatives at the Agwara Divisional Police Station before extending the violence to other parts of the community. The incident has renewed fears in the area, which last year witnessed the mass abduction of about 300 pupils, students and teachers of St. Mary’s Catholic School.

Confirming the latest attack, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the bandits struck the police facility at about 3:40 a.m., overwhelming officers on duty despite resistance from a tactical police team.

According to him, “the bandits used suspected dynamite to set the police station on fire” after the officers were forced to withdraw. He added that the attackers later moved to a nearby church, where they also caused significant damage.

Abiodun further disclosed that after torching the facilities, the assailants advanced into residential areas of the community, where they abducted about five villagers. He said the identities of those taken away were yet to be confirmed.

An eyewitness recounted that the attackers arrived near the town around 2 a.m., parking their motorcycles several kilometres away before trekking into the community to avoid detection.

“They first attacked the police station, forcing the few officers on duty to flee before setting the facility on fire,” the witness said.

The eyewitness added that the bandits later went from house to house, looting food items and valuables, before heading to the United Methodist Church, where they reportedly gathered benches, doused them with petrol and set the building ablaze.

It was gathered that a monthly vigil was ongoing at the church at the time of the invasion, but worshippers fled after receiving information that bandits were approaching the area.

Confirming the attack on the church, Reverend Yakubu Yohanna said members narrowly escaped harm after abandoning the premises ahead of the assailants’ arrival.

“They came to the town and also visited our church. They didn’t meet anybody, but they burnt down the building and everything inside,” he said, adding that church members were still returning to assess the extent of the destruction.

As of Sunday morning, security agencies were said to be assessing the situation, while residents expressed renewed anxiety over the recurring attacks in the community.