October 26, (THEWILL) – At least 16 worshippers were killed after suspected bandits attacked a mosque in Niger state on Monday.
The Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, who confirmed the incident on Tuesday, said, Scores of gunmen on motorcycles stormed Maza-Kuka village in Mashegu district of Niger state on Monday and opened fire during morning prayers.
“The bandits shot dead 16 people inside the mosque while they were praying”, he said.
Three worshippers were injured in the attack, one of them critically, he added.
Matane said one other person was killed in nearby Kaboji village as the gunmen fled the area.
“We are still investigating the motive of the attack and we have despatched military and police personnel to the area”, he said
On his part, the chairman of Mashegu LGA, Alhassan MazaKuka, described the attack as devastating.
He also confirmed that one of those who were fatally injured has been referred to the IBB Specialist Hospital for medical attention.
Lamenting the insecurity situation in the state, The Niger state commissioner for information, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris, said the state is now under the siege of bandits which has paralysed economic and social activities in the affected areas.
The commissioner said: “There is a rise in bandits’ attacks, nobody is safe anymore. We are already in a full-fledged war and there would certainly be casualties but we have taken measures to reduce the number of casualties on our side. The attacks are emanating from within communities not from bushes.”