A commander of a vigilante group, Danladi Dobbo, four of his men and a hunter were killed by bandits in Kpada community of Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.
The victims were killed in an ambush at the Lafiya-Kpada-Duma forest while on an operation to rescue kidnapped victims.
Six other vigilantes sustained various degrees of bullet wounds in the attack.
A member of the vigilante who was part of the operation but preferred anonymity said the incident happened on Friday afternoon, June 24, after some vigilantes from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Niger State mobilised to the forest to rescue some 22 farmers that were abducted on a farm at Rafin-Daji community in Abaji Area Council of Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the vigilantes and hunters were approaching the forest some kilometres from Lafiya Kpada-Duma communities when the bandits laid ambush and opened fire on them.
The source said some of the bandits that were hiding on top of trees opened fire and killed five of his members and a hunter.
He said the victims died due to loss of excess blood, adding that the road leading from the forest to Yaba was not motorable to enable them to evacuate the deceased to the hospital.
The commander, Niger State Vigilante Corps, Lapai division, Muhammadu Ibrahim, who confirmed the incident said that two vigilantes from the state and three others from the FCT, as well as one of the farmers, kidnapped from Duma village, Lapai Local Government, were killed during the encounter.
