Bandits kill over 20 people in Zamfara attacks

About 20 people have been killed and many others injured when bandits attacked five communities in two local government areas of Zamfara State.

Some residents in the affected communities confirmed the attacks and the casualties to journalists in an interview on Sunday.

Eyewitnesses said that the bandits, in large numbers, invaded the communities on Saturday evening and started shooting sporadically, killing innocent residents.

The bandits were said to have killed 11 persons and abducted many in Saulawa town in Zurmi Local Government Area.

Witnesses said the attackers also vowed to return to the area.

An eyewitness said that the robbers stormed the town at 5 am on Sunday and fired “everywhere you hear” and the dead included 10 men and one woman.

He said neighbours of the village rushed to the scene of the funeral but panicked as a result of the alleged claims by the attackers.

“The attackers called and said that even if their people were safe, they would attack a nearby village,” he said.

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The man added that when the gunmen attacked them, there was no security agents that came to their rescue.

A woman whose husband, eldest son and four other relatives were killed in the attack said she was “deeply saddened” to be left with seven children.

They said the other affected communities are – Gabaken, Rigiya, Donroyi, Torawa, and Riwoji located in Zurmi and Kaura Namoda local government areas of the state.

“They (the bandits) attacked a village called Gabaken and killed five people; in Torawa, they killed five people. One person was killed in a village called Rigiya; a village called Donroyi in Zurmi Local Government, they killed four people.

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“In a village called Riwoji where I come from, they killed four and injured seven people, including my father’s younger brother,” said one of the witnesses, Umar Abubakar.

He added that the injured persons were taken to the general hospitals in Kaura-Namoda, Birnin-Magaji, and Gusau where two of them were later confirmed dead.

Although police authorities in the state have confirmed the attacks, they did not give the number of those killed and injured by the gunmen.

The spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, Mohammed Shehu, noted that police tactical teams have been deployed in the affected areas to restore normalcy in the communities.

Shehu also appealed to the residents to be calm and go about their normal activities, saying the police were on top of the situation.