Niger gunmen abduct five persons, attack police station, church

Suspected bandits have set fire to a police station and a church in Agwara community Niger State in the early hours of Sunday.

The outlaws were also said to have abducted five persons in the community.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed this in a statement in Minna on Sunday.

Abiodun said the attack happened around 3.40am when the bandits invaded Agwara Police Station.

He said the police tactical team on duty engaged the attackers, adding that the bandits later overpowered the officers and used suspected dynamite to set the station on fire.

According to him, the assailants subsequently moved to the United Methodist Church (UMC) in the community, where they burnt part of the building.

The police spokesman also said that the bandits later proceeded to other areas of the community and abducted about five persons, whose identities have yet to be ascertained.

“The situation is being monitored, and further developments will be communicated in due course,” he said.

Abiodun added that security agencies are tracking the bandits with the view rescue the abducted victims.