Bandits attack Niger police station, kill DPO and 6 others

A Divisional Police Officer, Umar Dakin, and six other persons have been killed by bandits in Nasko, Magama LGA of Niger State.

A source, Jiamu Dangwere, stated that the bandits who rode on over a hundred motorcycles went straight to the police station and killed the DPO, The Punch reports.

He stated that nobody was abducted from the village, adding that the bandits killed five other vigilante group members in the operation.

“They didn’t carry anybody, they just went straight to the police station, killed these people and left,” he said.

Dangwere further said that they had been hearing rumours that the bandits had passed through some villages and as a result, villagers started deserting villages for fear of an attack.

He added, “We have been hearing that they followed here or followed there so people started to run away from the villages until they came and attacked

“People from other villages saw them passing through their villages. As they were running for their lives, they were also making calls to people in villages ahead to inform them that the bandits were moving in their direction.

“When I got the call that the bandits were moving towards the direction of Nasko, I wasn’t at home but I instructed my family to run to Salka”.

The State Commissioner for Police, Bala Kuryas, confirmed the attack saying the bandits strayed into Nasko from Kebbi State.

Also confirming the attack, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Internal Security, Emmanuel Umar, stated that the DPO and six other people were killed in the attack.

“Unfortunately, we lost the DPO, two other police officers and four vigilante group members to this attack,” Umar said.