Bandits have launched yet another violent raid on rural communities, abducted 24 farmers including pregnant women from a rice farm in the Palaita community of Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
Residents said the attackers stormed the farm around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday as people were harvesting crops for the season.
Despite the community’s proximity to a military base in Erena, barely five kilometres away the gunmen reportedly fled with their captives before security forces could intervene.
A community source described the incident as “devastating,” noting that families are now living in fear as kidnappers continue to operate freely in the area despite existing security deployments.
Earlier that same day, a separate group of armed men invaded the Kakuru community, also in Erena Ward, where they brutalised a visually impaired resident.
The attackers, who arrived around 8:00 a.m., found only the blind man at home, as most residents had already gone to their farms.
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According to the source, the bandits demanded a mobile phone they found in the house.
The victim reportedly told them the phone belonged to a neighbour.
Angered by his response, the attackers seized the device and severed his right hand before fleeing.
The man is currently receiving first aid treatment at a patent medicine store in Kuduru community.
Confirming the incidents, Wasiu Abiodun, Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, said the command had received reports of the attacks and was working to rescue those abducted.
“On November 26, 2025, at about 8 p.m., a report was received indicating that suspected armed men abducted about ten persons from Angwan-Kawo and Kuchipa villages of Shiroro Local Government Area. Effort is being made to rescue the victims”, Abiodun said.
The latest violence adds to growing insecurity in Niger State and the wider northern region.
Barely a week ago, more than 300 students and teachers were kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, a development that drew national and international outrage.
