Residents of Garam, a border community situated between Niger State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, found themselves engulfed in terror on a fateful Wednesday as armed bandits brazenly invaded the village during daylight hours.
Shocking reports unveiled a harrowing scene as the assailants, mounted on motorcycles and armed with guns, made inquiries about the route to Jere, a community in Kaduna State.
Eyewitness accounts, as reported by Daily Trust, depicted a menacing sight of over 100 bandits arriving in Garam on more than 40 motorcycles. Each motorcycle carried three armed bandits openly wielding AK-47 rifles, swords, and arrows. Dressed in military camouflage or combat trousers, the intruders struck fear into the hearts of the residents, causing a mass exodus from the village.
“In broad daylight on Monday afternoon, over 100 bandits arrived in Garam on motorcycles. There were more than 40 bikes, with three bandits on each one. They openly brandished AK 47 rifles and carried arrows and swords. Fearing the unknown, most people fled for their lives,” recounted one witness.
The chaos persisted as the bandits, donned in scarves and masks, lingered in the community for a considerable amount of time. Witnesses described scenes of panic and residents running for cover upon the arrival of the armed marauders.
The situation escalated further the following day when the bandits reportedly raided houses, unleashing a wave of kidnappings on the unsuspecting populace. One witness narrated the ordeal: “The bandits started attacking around 10:30 p.m. They started burgling shops, especially the shops where some boys were sleeping. They later entered a house close to ours, forced the gate open, broke the windows and removed the burglary, but none of the occupants slept at home.”
Residents, traumatized by a previous attack on January 2, had adopted cautious living habits, avoiding sleeping at home for their safety. However, after two weeks of relative calm, the bandits struck again.
The absence of timely intervention added to the residents’ distress, as one resident shared a harrowing experience: “They attempted to break into our compound around 12:30 am. We didn’t even know what to do. While they continued hitting the padlock we used to lock the gate, we were motionless and okayed dead.”
The gravity of the situation became apparent as the bandits targeted a Hausa settlement, where scores of people were kidnapped. Amid the terror, a Nupe woman and her two children faced a harrowing ordeal but were later abandoned due to the woman’s chronic ulcer. It was herders who discovered them in the bush and alerted the soldiers, facilitating their rescue.
The residents of Garam now live in constant fear, urging authorities to provide adequate security measures to curb the escalating threat posed by these armed marauders.
