In an early Sunday raid, bandits invaded Agwara local government area in Niger state, setting fire to the divisional police station and a church and kidnapping around five civilians.
The attackers overran the Agwara Police Station and then burned down a portion of the community’s United Methodist Church. This is the same place where over 300 students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School were abducted last year.
SP Wasiu Abiodun, the state’s police public relations officer, confirmed the occurrence, stating that the bandits attacked the police station around 3:40 a.m. He described how a police tactical unit attacked the terrorists but was eventually overwhelmed.
According to him, the criminals used suspected explosives to set fire to the police station before going on to the church, where they burned a portion of the structure. He stated that the perpetrators thereafter moved on to other portions of the village and abducted around five people, the names of whom were unknown.
According to an eyewitness, the bandits arrived in town about 2 a.m., parked their motorcycles a few kilometers away, and then walked into the neighborhood. He stated that they initially attacked the police station, causing the few officers on duty to evacuate before setting fire to the facility.
According to the eyewitness, the attackers then went from home to house, robbing belongings and food before coming to the church, where they gathered benches, poured petrol on them, and set fire to the building.
According to reports, a monthly vigil was taking place at the church at the time of the attack, but people fled after learning of the bandits’ approach.
Reverend Yakubu Yohanna of the church confirmed the attack, claiming no one was killed because members fled into cover before the bandits arrived.
“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 members were still returning to assess the damage.
Police said the situation is being monitored and that any additional developments would be informed in due time.
Agwara has recently seen a number of bandit attacks, including the kidnapping of children and staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, who were ultimately released.
