Crime
How informants foiled dreaded 70-year old priestess attacks on bandits
What could have been another successful onslaught against armed bandits in Niger state by a combined force of the 70-year-old priestess and local hunters have been foiled by informants who leaked the planned invasion to the bandits.
It was gathered that hundreds of bandits terrorizing communities in Rafi local government area of the state fled the communities after they were informed by their informants that the “dread” woman spiritualist had arrived the town with local hunters to lunch onslaught against them.
Recall that the dreaded 70-year old priest had last week led a team of local hunters in a string operation that led to the death of 40 bandits.
As a result of her success, the Niger state government state approach her for help against bandits in Rafi, Shiroro and Paikoro local government areas of the state.
The priestess with the hunters had arrived Kagara on Sunday afternoon only to discover that the bandits had got information about her presence in the town and fled their hideouts.
The woman was said to have immediately told the people that some informants had told the bandits of her arrival in town.
“The woman told us that the bandits are already aware of her arrival and had taken to their heels with their motorcycles. She even showed us in a calabash how they were escaping”, a source close to the communities said.
This development, our source said, infuriated the woman’s spiritualist and she left the town with anger, but assured the people that the bandits would be tracked down if they (bandits) ventured to return to the communities.
“She said now that she had known the communities, she would not announce her next visit”, our source disclosed.
It could be recalled that the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, had raised the alarm that informants had continued to frustrate the effort of the government in the fight against the bandits in the state.
The governor stated this in Minna recently while giving an update on the security situation in parts of the state that the informants were everywhere “including here in Government House” but vowed that the war against all forms of banditry and criminality would be won in the state.
