Abuja – Governor Sani Bello of Niger State said at least 220 people were killed during 50 violent attacks carried out by gunmen in 300 communities in the state between January 1 and 17 this year.
Bello , who spoke with journalists in Abuja shortly after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House said that 200 people, including three Chinese nationals were also kidnapped within the same period.
” We also lost some security personnel. Their number is 25. Unfortunately, we lost about 165 civilians and 30 local vigilantes.
“So, it’s a very dire situation that we have been battling in the last few weeks since the beginning of this year,” the governor who came to brief Buhari on the security situation in the state said.
According to him, the terror groups carrying out the attacks operate not only in Niger State but also in other nearby states.
“What I realise is that they have been taking us on a merry-go-round. When we deal with them in Niger, they move to Kaduna.
“When Kaduna deals with them, they move to Katsina. They have been hibernating in the forest. Some of these operations need to be handled simultaneously so that we get the result.
“We are not happy and we are sad with the developments in these states.
“We are doing whatever we can, using kinetic and non-kinetic efforts to see that we address the present situation. As we go on, we will try to update you from time to time on progress being made in this fight,” the governor said.
It will be recalled that President Buhari recently approved a major military operation in Niger State in response to the worsening security situation in the state.(vitalnews)
