Bandits have attacked the palace of the Emir of Kagara, Alhaji Ahmed Garba Attahiru, in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State on Tuesday.
Rafi is one of the local government areas in the state plagued by banditry.
Kagara is the capital of Rafi local government area of Niger State.
Locals said the armed men stormed the palace at about 6:pm on 27 motorcycles, each bearing three occupants.
“They were shooting sporadically into the air, causing pandemonium in their wake,” a local said.
Rafi is one of the hotspots of banditry in the state, with the capital Kagara and communities under it coming under constant attacks by bandits.
The bandits stormed the town through Attahiru Primary School towards Madaka road, where the abducted Kagara students were herded out.
Our correspondent learnt that the emir was out of town when the assailants attacked.
He was sighted in Minna on Tuesday, on his way to Abuja.
Many traders who came all over the local government area and beyond for the weekly market in the town abandoned their wares.
Following the attacks, many residents have also deserted the town.
Effort to get the State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun to comment on the development proved abortive.
Attahiru was appointed emir in April 2021 after the death of the former monarch.
On February 17, 2021, bandits in military uniforms abducted 27 students and 12 staff and their families from Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State.
The students and staff were released about 10 days later after payment of ransom.
