Combined security forces comprising local vigilantes, military men and police officers have foiled the attempted invasion of Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State by bandits.

A security source told FIJ the terrorists had attempted to break into Lavun on Tuesday night through the conjoined borders of Kundu and Kwaka in the Wushishi Local Government Area of the state.

“We were able to prevent their invasion after receiving a signal of their presence in Kagara LGA,” the source said.

READ MORE: Bandits Kidnap Bride While Raiding Over 10 Villages in Niger

Meanwhile, a source in the Rafi-Kagara Local Government Area of the state told FIJ the bandits invaded some communities in Gunna district on the same day.

“They invaded yesterday and kidnapped an unspecified number of persons. They also rustled cows worth millions of naira,” he said, adding that some of the abducted persons escaped while the bandits herded them to the forest. No one was shot, according to the source.

About three weeks ago, the terrorists attacked some Lavun villages, killing and kidnapping scores. Locals told FIJ the terrorists raped some women and minors before whisking them away during the raid.

READ ALSO: Bandits Survey a Niger Village in the Morning, Attack Another at Night

On February 27, 2022, villages like Ebbo, Egbako, Gogata, Gbanagi, Ndaruka, Kuba, Dabban and Mawogi, among others, were pillaged. Many of the villagers were killed while others were abducted. A few of the kidnapped victims also escaped from their abductors.

FIJ learned that the bandits are still holding on to their victims as their families have failed to raise the ransoms demanded to release them. However, the villagers have resorted to crowdfunding to meet the demand of the terrorists, according to Rukoto TV, a local television in Niger State.