SUSPECTED thugs in Niger State have reportedly raided shops, killed and maimed residents in the Maitumbi area of Minna, the state capital.
Eyewitnesses said the rampage started on Friday and continued for the next two days, forcing a reign of terror in the area.
A tricyclist, name withheld, narrated to this newspaper how he narrowly escaped death when some of the hoodlums attacked him while he was carrying some passengers.
“As I was riding my tricycle through the Maitumbi area, I had three passengers when about four of the hoodlums attacked us. They were brandishing their knives and daggers, threatening to use them on us. They collected all the mobile phones of the passengers.
“What saved me was that I was swinging the tricycle, preventing the hoodlums from overpowering me. One of them even used his dagger to try to stab me, but in the process, he destroyed the tricycle’s windscreen. I only managed to escape from them. I would have been a dead man by now,” he narrated.
Another eyewitness, Musa Mohammed, narrated how the hoodlums who were said to be acting under the influence of dangerous drugs beheaded a middle-aged man and his young son, who they caught at the centre of the fracas.
According to Mohammed, police operatives who were invited to arrest the situation were also attacked by the hoodlums
“Before my very eyes, the hoodlums beheaded a middle-aged man and his young son. They also attacked policemen who came to quell the crisis.
“They even vandalised their vehicle, but the policemen fired teargas at the hoodlums to disperse them, but they refused to calm down,” he added.
This newspaper learnt that several residents of the Maitumbi area could not get home on the night of the incident as they had to find alternative places to sleep for fear of the attacks.
The hoodlums reportedly broke into shops, raiding wares and attacking those who attempted to resist.
Over eight residents were allegedly killed while many others were injured in the rampage.
The spokesman for the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the attack to newsmen but could not ascertain the number of victims killed.
“There were street fights, but the men of the state command were able to bring the situation under control. Five ring leaders of the fight were arrested,” he said.
Abiodun said details of the incident were still emerging, so he could not confirm the number of deaths or injuries.