Residents of Garam, a border community between Niger State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), experienced a harrowing ordeal as over a hundred terrorists on motorcycles invaded the village in broad daylight.
The assailants, wielding AK-47 rifles, swords, and arrows, were dressed in military camouflage and combat trousers.
Eyewitnesses reported that the audacious attack took place on Monday afternoon, with the bandits riding more than 40 motorcycles, each carrying three individuals.
The invaders openly displayed their weapons, causing panic among the residents who fled for their lives, uncertain of the unfolding situation.
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According to another witness who described the scene, telling Daily Trust, “I saw people running when the bandits arrived. I also peeped where I was hiding, and I saw some of them using scarves to cover their faces while some used masks. Some of them wore combat trousers.”
The following day, the bandits struck again, this time invading homes and terrorizing the community in an attempt to kidnap people.
The attacks, starting around 10:30 p.m., targeted shops and houses, leaving residents in fear. This incident followed a previous attack on January 2, and despite the relative peace in the preceding two weeks, the community faced renewed violence.
Residents, still grappling with the traumatic memories of the earlier attack, found themselves under siege once more.
One resident shared a chilling account, stating, “They attempted to break into our compound around 12:30 a.m. We didn’t even know what to do. While they continued hitting the padlock we used to lock the gate, we were motionless and prayed silently because there was no one to help.”
Despite the presence of soldiers in the area, residents felt abandoned during the critical moments of the attack. The bandits targeted a Hausa settlement, kidnapping scores of people.
“One Nupe woman, whose husband is a driver, was kidnapped alongside her two children. But because the woman had a chronic ulcer and she had been sick for some time now, she was later abandoned.
“They tied the woman and the two children to the tree. It was herders that saw them in the bush that set them free and also alerted the soldiers who brought them back,” another resident disclosed.