Dare Babalola
The Niger State Police Command has confirmed that suspected armed bandits set a police station and part of a church ablaze in Agwara community early Sunday.
The incident was confirmed on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Wasiu Abiodun, who said the attack occurred at about 3:40 am, when the bandits invaded the Agwara Police Station.
Abiodun stated that the police tactical team on duty engaged the attackers, but the bandits overpowered them and used suspected dynamite to torch the station.
According to him, “The assailants subsequently moved to the United Methodist Church (UMC) in the community, where they burnt part of the church building.”
The police spokesman also said the bandits later proceeded to other areas of the community and abducted about five persons, whose identities had yet to be ascertained.
“The situation is being monitored, and further developments will be communicated in due course,” he said.
He assured that security agencies had commenced investigations and intensified efforts to track the perpetrators and rescue the abducted victims.
Niger State, in northwestern Nigeria, has been grappling with a surge in banditry and violent attacks by armed criminal groups.
In November 2025, bandits kidnapped over 300 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s School in Papiri.
This was followed by a deadly wave of assaults from late December 2025 into early January 2026.
On January 3, heavily armed bandits on motorcycles slaughtered 42 tied-up men, abducted women and children in Kasuwan Daji village within Agwara Local Government Area, and set fire to the market and homes.
These incidents underscore the persistent security challenges in the state.
