Suspected armed bandits have attacked Agwara town, headquarters of Agwara Local Government Area in Niger State, setting ablaze the divisional police station and part of the United Methodist Church (UMC), while abducting at least five residents.
Sources told newsmen that the assailants arrived around 2–4 a.m. on Sunday, engaging police officers in a gun battle before overrunning the station. A police tactical team on duty attempted to repel the attackers but was eventually overpowered. The bandits reportedly used suspected dynamite to set the police station on fire.
After the attack on the police facility, the assailants moved to the UMC Church, where they burnt part of the building. They also raided homes across the community, looting valuables and foodstuffs, and abducted no fewer than five people, whose identities are yet to be confirmed.
A resident of Agwara, Mallam Hussaini Mohammed, said the attack heightened fear in the town, forcing many residents to flee their homes. An eyewitness added that the bandits had parked their motorcycles a few kilometres away before trekking into the town to carry out the attacks.
Reverend Yakubu Yohanna of the church confirmed the incident, stating that no lives were lost as worshippers fled before the bandits arrived. “They came to the town and also visited our church. They didn’t meet anybody, but they burnt down the building and everything inside,” he said, adding that members were still returning to assess the damage.
The Niger State Police Command confirmed the attack. Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the situation is being closely monitored, and investigations and efforts to track the perpetrators and rescue the abducted victims have commenced. “Monitoring continues, and further developments will be communicated in due course,” he added.
Agwara has experienced repeated bandit attacks in recent times, including the abduction of about 300 pupils, students, and staff of St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri last year, who were later released.
