Exactly one week after over 300 students were kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, armed bandits carried out another attack in Palaita community, Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area. Twenty-four people, including a pregnant woman, were abducted from a rice farm, while a blind man had his hand severed during a separate attack in the same area.

The police, however, reported that ten people were kidnapped in the Niger State incident.

On the same day, gunmen attacked a community in Abuja, abducting six girls and a boy.

Meanwhile, the Diocese of Kaduna, Anglican Communion, confirmed that Venerable Edwin Achi, Priest-in-Charge of Ebenezer Anglican Church, Ungwan Maijero, who was abducted on October 28, had died in captivity. The incident led to the cancellation of the ‘Stand Up for Jesus 2025’ event.

Despite the recent surge in school and community abductions, Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar stated that the armed forces were making progress in tackling banditry across the country.

Also on the same day, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun revealed that 11,566 police personnel withdrawn from VIP duties had been redeployed to underserved communities. Catholic Cardinal John Onaiyekan urged the federal government to prioritise equipping officers on the ground for effective response instead of focusing solely on recruiting 20,000 new policemen.

A source in the Palaita community said the attackers struck at around 2:00 pm while residents were harvesting their crops. Despite the community being only five kilometres from a military base in Erena, the bandits reportedly escaped with the victims before security personnel could intervene.

Earlier that day, armed men also attacked Kakuru community, in the same Erena Ward, brutally assaulting a blind resident and severing his right hand after taking his mobile phone.

Eyewitnesses said the bandits drove directly to the farm in Palaita, began shooting sporadically, rounded up the victims, and fled before the military arrived.

From initial accounts, the bandits appeared to have a specific objective to remove the farmers from the farm and abduct them. The exact location where the victims were taken remains unknown, and no communication has been established between the kidnappers and the families of those affected.

In Kakuru community, the blind man was attacked at home after the bandits demanded a mobile phone they had seen in his possession. He explained that the phone belonged to someone else who had gone to the farm.

The attackers forcedfully took the phone and severed his right hand for refusing to cooperate. The victim received first aid treatment locally, but his current whereabouts are not yet confirmed.

The state police command confirmed that ten people were reportedly abducted in the Niger State attacks.

The recent incidents underscore the persistent insecurity in parts of Niger State and the Federal Capital Territory, with both communities and schools increasingly targeted. Authorities continue to urge residents to remain vigilant and cooperate with security agencies while efforts to secure vulnerable areas intensify.