{"id":193078,"date":"2026-01-31T10:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T09:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger"},"modified":"2026-01-31T10:30:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T09:30:21","slug":"bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger","title":{"rendered":"Bandits\u2019 presence triggers mass exodus from Mariga communities in Niger"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Residents of several communities in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State have fled their homes amid reports that armed bandits have moved into the area and established camps, sparking widespread fear.<\/p>\n<p>Zagazola Makama reports that by about 11:30 am on January 29, the bandits were believed to be operating from Kangi, Masabu and Gulbin Boka villages, causing panic in surrounding settlements.<\/p>\n<p>Security sources said the attackers resorted to abducting residents after they were unable to find cattle to rustle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe kidnapped victims are currently being held in Kangi and Masabu, while people from Lioji, Dusai, Kuimo, Gulbin Boka and nearby communities have deserted their homes to avoid possible attacks,\u201d a source disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>The rising insecurity has also affected transportation, with the Kontagora\u2013Rijau road reportedly abandoned by motorists due to fear of ambush.<\/p>\n<p>Security agencies are said to be keeping a close watch on the situation, while residents have been advised to remain alert as authorities work to restore security and rescue those abducted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residents of several communities in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State have fled their homes amid reports that armed bandits have moved into the area and established camps, sparking widespread fear. Zagazola Makama reports that by about 11:30 am on January 29, the bandits were believed to be operating from Kangi, Masabu and Gulbin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":193077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bandits\u2019 presence triggers mass exodus from Mariga communities in Niger - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bandits\u2019 presence triggers mass exodus from Mariga communities in Niger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Residents of several communities in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State have fled their homes amid reports that armed bandits have moved into the area and established camps, sparking widespread fear. Zagazola Makama reports that by about 11:30 am on January 29, the bandits were believed to be operating from Kangi, Masabu and Gulbin [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-31T09:30:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Bandits\u2019 presence triggers mass exodus from Mariga communities in Niger\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-31T09:30:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger\"},\"wordCount\":173,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/sm_1769855421.487757.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bandits-presence-triggers-mass-exodus-from-mariga-communities-in-niger\",\"name\":\"Bandits\u2019 presence triggers mass exodus from Mariga communities in Niger - 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