Gunmen Go Wild, Kill Residents, Abduct Many Others In Sokoto Village On Sallah Day

Some heavily armed men, who are suspected to be terrorists, have attacked and killed six people, and also abducted many others at a village in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The gunmen were said to have stormed Tudun Doki village at about 1:30 am on Sallah day.

The Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in Sokoto, Ahmed Rufa’i, confirmed the attack.

He said six bodies have been retrieved so far, but the police have yet to ascertain the number of abducted persons.

Sokoto is one of several states in northwestern and central regions terrorised by heavily armed gangs, who carry out mass abductions for ransom as well as burning and looting homes.

The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have also undertaken large-scale kidnappings of pupils from schools in recent years.

Bandits have recently stepped up attacks, particularly in Katsina and Zamfara states.

Last month, the gangs raided four villages in Katsina state’s Sabuwa district, killing 25 people, mostly local vigilantes, in apparent reprisals over military offensives on their hideouts, according to a local official.

Bandits have no ideological leaning and are motivated by financial gain. But analysts and officials have expressed concern over their increasing alliance with jihadists waging a 15-year armed rebellion in the northeast.