Bandits have abducted five persons along Beji-Manta road in Shiroro local government area of Niger State.

The Nation learnt the abductees were returning from the weekly Beji market when the bandits stopped them and whisked them away.

The incident was reported to the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane during a radio programme monitored by The Nation.

The caller, who identified himself as Umar, told the SSG that he wanted to inform him about the situation because the security agencies were not aware of the incident.

Responding, the SSG lamented that there had been a lot of underreported abductions as the reports have not been coming through the conventional channel.

He said that the State Government was not aware of the abduction but since that they have been informed, they will swing into action to rescue the abductees.

“This is one of the underreporting that we are talking about. Until now that I am hearing this, we never knew of these people who were kidnapped along Beji-Manta road. But now that we have been alerted, we will do something about it,” he stressed.

Matane further said that the Manta area has become a high-security risk alongside other communities in Niger State.

He called on people plying these roads to be careful saying they should avoid doing so during market days.

“The people have to be security conscious and be very careful because the bandits target people who go to the market and abduct them on their way back home.

“This is a wake-up call and we need to inform our relations and communities,” he stated.

The SSG also cautioned people who go to farms to be careful saying the bandits have devised other tactics of abduction whereby they leave their motorcycles and trek to the farms to abduct the farmers. (The Nation)

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