Monarch, policeman, 33 others killed in Niger

The District Head of Allawa in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, his brother and 33 others have been killed by gunmen, who invaded the village on Tuesday night.

Our correspondent learnt that a Police Inspector in the area was also killed in the attack.

The attackers, who were said to be armed with sophisticated weapons, were believed to be Fulani herdsmen while an unconfirmed report suggested that the invaders could be fleeing Boko Haram members, who might have been dislodged from their hideout in Sambisa Forest.

It was gathered that the attackers also set more than 25 houses on fire and injured several other villagers before fleeing into the bush in an attack said to have lasted about two hours.

Scores of the villagers are now displaced as a result of the attack.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Bala Elikana, who confirmed the incident, expressed shock and sadness over the loss of innocent lives.

Elikana, however, said the command had not been able to confirm the number of casualty, admitting that a policeman was among those killed.

He added that the incident happened at night, explaining that as a result of lack of communication between Allawa and other parts of the state, distress call could not reach security agencies on time.

The PPRO stated that the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Marafa,  had dispatched the Divisional Police Officer in Kagara and the Police Area Commander in Minna to the troubled village to assess the situation.

Troops of the Nigerian Army have been on the ground in the Shiroro Local Government Area, battling the menace of cow theft, but it could not be explained how the murderers evaded the soldiers.