Gunmen kill village head and four others in Niger State

Suspected gunmen have killed the village head of Galla in Borgu Local Government Area, Ahmed Yusuf, and four other people in a new attack on the community.

The traditional ruler was reportedly killed in his palace, according to sources who know about the incident.

These sources said the gunmen also killed four other residents and took away an unknown number of people.

This latest attack has raised more worries about security in Borgu. It comes just days after suspected terrorists attacked several communities in the same area.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the attackers invaded a mosque in Kpenya while Muslims were praying on Friday. They abducted many worshippers during the prayers.

After the attack, the Niger State Government told security agencies to step up efforts to rescue the abducted worshippers and bring peace back to the affected communities.

Sources mentioned that the village head had warned suspected bandits to stay away from his community.

The bandits saw the warning as a challenge, which led to the attack on the traditional ruler.

The details of the killing have not been independently verified.

The late village head was a retired army master warrant officer.

He was also the brother of Aliyu Abdullahi, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security.

He was a cousin to Abdullahi Wara, who is the Director of Operations of the National Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) and the District Head of Lumma.

This latest attack adds to a number of violent incidents in Borgu and around the Kainji Lake area in recent months.

In August, PREMIUM TIMES reported that nine bodies were found along the Wawa-Lumma road in Borgu after suspected bandits attacked travellers. Security forces later carried out operations in the area.

In June, suspected terrorists also struck Pissa in Borgu, killing several residents, abducting others, and burning houses. The attackers threatened nearby communities like Kabe and Sukumba.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported in June that suspected bandits burnt the Central Primary School in Dekara. This happened even after they had collected a N10 million protection fee from the communities.

Residents said that many communities in Borgu and neighbouring Agwara have faced repeated attacks, forcing some people to leave their homes.

The situation has caught the government's attention.

After last Friday's attack on Gidan-Zana and Kpenya, the Niger State Government said security agencies had launched a joint operation to check the situation, track the attackers, and help rescue the abducted worshippers.

At the time of this report, the Niger State Government, police, and other security agencies had not released an official statement confirming the killing of the Galla village head and the four other victims.

PREMIUM TIMES could not verify the identities of the other four victims or the circumstances of their deaths.