Armed bandits have attacked Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State again, setting the divisional police station and a church ablaze while abducting about five villagers in an early Sunday raid.
Police said the attackers stormed the station around 3:40 a.m. A tactical team attempted to resist them but was eventually overpowered. The assailants reportedly used suspected dynamite to set the building on fire before moving to the United Methodist Church, where part of the structure was also burnt.
An eyewitness said the bandits arrived around 2 a.m., parked their motorcycles some kilometres away, and trekked into the community. After attacking the police station, they allegedly moved from house to house, looting valuables and food items, before heading to the church, piling benches together, pouring petrol on them, and setting the place ablaze.
Reverend Yakubu Yohanna confirmed the incident, stating that no lives were lost as worshippers fled before the bandits reached the church. Police said the situation is being monitored and further updates will follow.
