TheCable

Three persons were killed when gunmen attacked the palace of Ahmed Attahiru, Emir of Kagara, and the divisional police headquarters in Rafi LGA of Niger state.

Monday Kuryas, the state commissioner of police, confirmed the incident on Wednesday.

Kuryas said the incident occurred around 5:30pm on Tuesday, adding that “over 100 attackers” who came with dangerous weapons gained entry into the emir’s palace and the divisional police headquarters in the area.

He said a policeman and two civilians were shot dead during the incident.

He also said some gunmen attacked Kachiwe village in Sarkin Pawa headquarters of Munya LGA of the state.

He alleged that bandits sneaked into Niger from their hideout in Kaduna state to carry out the attack.

He, however, said the command is yet to confirm the total number of casualties.

“I don’t have the actual number of people killed during the attack,” he said.

The commissioner added that the command was not resting on its oars in an effort to rid the state of crime.

He appealed to residents of the state to provide timely information on criminals to security agencies, adding that investigation into the matter had begun in order to track down the perpetrators.

According to NAN, he also said a team of policemen has been dispatched to the area to safeguard the lives and property of the people of Sarkin Pawa.

TheCable had earlier reported that Mohammed Sani Musa, senator representing Niger east, had said the federal government needs to be “very ruthless” with bandits.

Musa, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television, said the security situation in the state has worsened.