Bandits kill 50 in Sokoto, 31 in Zamfara

Gunmen said to be bandits struck on Saturday night, killing around 50 people in Sokoto State's Gwadabawa and Tangaza local government areas.

On the same day, 31 villagers were also murdered by bandits in the villages of Janbako and Sakida in Zamfara State's Maradun Local Government Area.

The Nigerian Police Force's Sokoto State Command verified the bandit attack in the state's two local government areas on Sunday.

ASP Ahmad Rufa'i, the command's spokesperson, promised to give news reports information about the fatal attacks and said that the police were keeping an eye on the situation.

Two of the attacked villages, according to a villager in the Gwadabawa LGA who requested anonymity, are the most populous in the region.

The villager explained, “Some of the bandits were already in the town, unknown to residents of the affected communities, before others arrived in the evening to strike.

“The operation started after evening prayer, where they attacked the two villages simultaneously.

"In Bilingawa, no less than 18 people were killed during the attack on Saturday evening.

“After killing them, they set their corpses and those of their animals on fire, ensuring that most of them were burnt beyond recognition.”

No fewer than 37 people are said to have been killed and numerous others injured in attacks on three communities in the Tangaza LGA.

The Raka, Raka Dutse, and Filin Gawa communities are among those that have been impacted, said a local.

According to Bashar Kalenjeni, a former chairman of the LGA, 18 people were slain at Raka, 17 at Filin Gawa, and two at Raka Dutse.

"We wanted to bury them in the night, but the bandits came back and dispersed us. As of this morning, the deceased are still there, unburied,” Kalenjeni said.

According to him, the “offence” of the villagers was their “refusal to pay levies imposed on their communities.”

“But the villagers refused to succumb and because of that, they attacked them, killing 37 persons while several others sustained varying degrees of gunshot injury and are currently receiving treatment at General Hospital, Gwadabawa.

“There are others who are still unaccounted for,” the former chairman disclosed, adding, “Right now, we are waiting for security operatives to lead us to the villages in order to bury the dead ones.”

In the meantime, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, a resident of Zamfara State, told a news report over the phone that on Saturday afternoon, the bandits, who arrived in big numbers, attacked two settlements.

He claims that the bandits attacked the village of Janbako on Saturday about 2:30 pm, killing 28 people and injuring many more.

Later that day, they relocated to Sakida village, where they once more killed three people and injured numerous more.

Mohammed said, “We just finished afternoon prayer when we heard gunshots and everybody ran Helter skelter for safety”.

“The bandits shot sporadically as soon as they arrived at our village as a result of which they were able to kill 28 people and injured several others.

“They later moved to Sakida village very close to our village where they also launched an attack, killing three on the spot and also injuring several others.

“As I am talking to you now, the people of the two communities have fled to other places.”

All efforts to speak to the newly posted police public relations Officer SP Yazid Abubakar proved abortive, as he did not pick up the phone calls after several attempts