According to reports, the gunmen attacked Kachiwe village and spread to other adjourning villages in the area. The fully armed bandits who rode on motorcycles started shooting sporadically to scare the villagers during which many people were killed.

Confirming the incident, the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, said the State Government is not leaving any stone unturned in its efforts at ridding the state of crime and appealed to residents of the state to provide security agencies with credible information to succeed.

“What is happening to us in Niger State in terms of insecurity is beyond our power and this is why we are calling on the Federal Government to come to our rescue immediately,” the SSG pleaded

Similarly, the state Commissioner of Police, Monday Bala Kuryas, said the state police have taken steps towards tracking down the perpetrators of the criminal act.

“A team of policemen have been dispatched to the area to safeguard lives and properties of people of Sarkin Pawa,” the Commissioner revealed

According to the Executive Chairman of the service, Mohammed Etsu, in Minna on Monday, pointed out that the exercise was carried out in line with the provisions of the relevant tax laws.

The affected banks include; Stanbic IBTC (N113.2m), Polaris Bank(N74.8m), UBA (N68.9m), Union Bank(N47.1m), First Bank (N45.7m), Heritage Bank (N31.5m), Unity Bank (N14m), and GTB (N8.2m).

Others affected are AEDC Plc (N45.8m), Aloe Vera International Hotel (N3.9m), and a Restaurant (N3.2m) in the state capital.

The Chairman explained that all efforts by the service to enable the defaulting organisations to pay their respective tax liability yielded no positive result.

Etsu further called on other debtors to pay their outstanding tax liability to avoid sealing of their offices by the Service as the tax drive exercise is a continuous one.

Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, Mary Noel-Berje, who confirmed the incident said the Commissioner was kidnapped by bandits in the early hours of Monday, August 9, from his home at Baban Tunga village in Tafa local government of the State.

The CPS added “Security agencies are, however, already trailing the bandits with a view to apprehending them”

Idris said the corps members tested positive after the Ministry of Health conducted the routine test on them. He said the development has led to resuscitation of the state COVID-19 task force to ensure that all COVID-19 safety protocols are re-enforced.

The commissioner said; “We agreed that the state government would resuscitate the task force on COVID-19 to resuscitate the COVID-19 protocols as an immediate action. Nobody would have access to all public offices without wearing facemasks. All heads of Ministries, Departments and Parastatals have been directed to provide handwashing facilities”

Abubakar Sani Bello made this known when he paid a visit to over 3000 Internally Displaced Persons from Shiroro and Munya local government areas who are taking refuge in Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Primary School, Minna the state capital.

“I am confirming that there are Boko Haram elements in Niger State, around Kaure. I just heard that they’ve already hoist their flag in Kaure, which means they’ve taken over the territory and this is what I have been engaging the FG with, and unfortunately it has now gotten to this stage that if care is not taken, not even Abuja is safe. They’ve taken over the territory, they’ve installed their flag. I am confirming that now. They’ve taken over the wives of people by force. Boko Haram elements are trying to use these areas as their home just like they did in Sambisa. I have not lost hope from the federal government but I am not waiting for anyone anymore”.

Bello said this during a meeting with a vigilante group at Mariga LGA of Niger state. He stated that any bandit who gives up his old ways would be offered a means of livelihood without cash backing.

The Governor said “I am here to thank the vigilantes, boost their morale and to offer more support from the state government so that they can continue to support the police and other security agencies in the fight against bandits and other criminal tendencies.  Any bandit that surrenders his weapons and repents from his heinous way of living would be forgiven and provided with a means of livelihood which would not necessarily include any cash backing. From experience, it has been discovered that the repentant bandits, after collecting cash from the dialogue option, will purchase more weapons and return to their old ways of banditry.”

Bandits dressed in military uniform stormed the school at about 2 am on Wednesday, February 17, killed a student, and abducted 27 others, 3 staff of the school and 12 members of the family of the staff.

The names of the abducted teachers are Hannatu Philip, Lawal Abdullahi and Dodo Fodio while the non-teaching staff are Mohammed Musa and Faiza Mohammed.

The names of the abducted students were giving as Jamilu Isah, Shem Joshua, Abbas Abdullahi, Isah Abdullahi, Ezekeil Danladi, Haliru Shuibu, Mamuda Suleman, Danzakar Dauda, Abdulsamad Sanusi, Bashir Abbas, Suleman Lawal, Abdullahi Adamu and Habakuk Augustine.

Others are Idris Mohammed, Musa Adamu, Abdulkarim Abdulrahman, Abubakar Danjumma, Abdullahi Abubakar, Bashir Kamalideen, Mohammed Salisu, Yusuf M Kabir, Isah Abdullah Makusidi, Polineous Vicente, Lawal Bello, Mohammed K Shehu, Mubarak Sidi and Abdulsamad Nuhu.

The student shot and killed by the bandits in the school premises was Benjamin Habila.

The names of the abducted family members of the staff were given as Christiana Adama, Faith Adama, Maimuna Suleman, Nura Isah, Ahmad Isah, Khadizat Isah, Mohammed Mohammed, Aisha Isah and Saratu Isah.

The Federal and state government have vowed to ensure the safe return of the abducted staff and students.

The state government which proposed to pay workers 70% of their salaries, a decision the organized labour kicked against, stressed that the reduction was not a slash but the state’s inability to meet 100% salaries.

Secretary to the Niger State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane said “There is no talk about slash in the salaries of civil servants. What we have discussed with the organized Labor was that because of the recession, our FAAC allocation has dropped to a level where we won’t be able to pay 100 per cent of the salary. We called their attention to this, we opened our books in terms of how much we received, the existing commitments and what is leftover”

Salamatu Abubakar, the state’s head of service who made the disclosure on Thursday  September 11, said some of the fraudulent practices include an office messenger receiving the salary of a high court judge and a fake commissioner of agriculture getting salaries for the office for two years.

Haruna Dukku, the state commissioner of agriculture who commented on the development said he would have been mistaken to be the one earning double salaries if not for the verification exercise.

Dukku said “Somebody has been collecting the salary of the commissioner for agriculture in the last two years.  The person makes it to look as if I am collecting double salary. What will I say if at the end of my tenure, the EFCC comes knocking and this thing has not been discovered before then?”

The zonal chairman died in Kaduna after a brief illness. He is survived by two wives, children and aged parents.

In his condolence message, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello expressed shock, over the death of Bin Adam.