Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
No fewer than 24 persons, including pregnant women, have been abducted from their farms by bandits in Palaita community in Erena Ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
They farmers were said to be working on their rice farm before they were kidnapped.
The incident, according to a source close to the community, occurred at about 2:00 p.m. when the people were busy in the farm harvesting their produce.
Although Palaita is about five kilometres from the military camp in Erena, the source said the victims had been taken away before the soldiers could arrive in the community.
Also in another community called Kakuru in the same Erena Ward, a blind man had his right hand cut off by another group of bandits after they collected his mobile phone.
The bandits, who arrived in the community at about 8:00 a.m., met only the blind man at home as the rest of the community members were said to have gone to their farms.
The blind man was said to have told the gunmen that the mobile phone did not belong to him, saying that the owner had gone to the farm; this, however, infuriated the bandits who, after seizing the phone from him, cut off his right hand.
He is being treated by a patent medicine shop owner in Kuduru community.
Reacting to the incident, the Niger State Police command image maker, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said in a one-paragraph statement that: “On November 26, 2025 at about 8 p.m., report received indicated that suspected armed men abducted about ten persons from Angwan-Kawo and Kuchipa villages of Shiroro Local Government Area. Effort is being emplaced to rescue the victims.”