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Thirty people have been killed and several others abducted following a bandit attack on Dutsin Dan Ajiya village in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The attack occurred when the gunmen invaded the village around midnight on Thursday, till the early hours of Friday.
Residents said the gunmen, who reportedly arrived on motorcycles, blocked the village entrance and began shooting sporadically before carrying out the abductions.
“After blocking all the roads, the bandits started to shoot at sight, and the villagers ran helter-skelter. After the attack, we realised that 30 people were killed, some were wounded, while several others are at large and nobody knows their whereabouts,” a resident recounts
The incident comes less than 48 hours after the Zamfara State Government launched newly acquired security hardware and surveillance drones to strengthen the fight against insecurity.
The equipment was unveiled by Governor Dauda Lawal alongside Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd).
Meanwhile, Lawal has directed the Deputy Governor, Mani Mumuni, to visit the affected community.
The visit is aimed at sympathising with residents and conveying the Governor’s message of condolences to the families of the victims.
Police authorities are yet to comment on the incident.
Zamfara is one of the North-Western states affected by banditry who most times struggle for resource control.
Other states include Kebbi, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Katsina.
On February 18, gunmen killed dozens of people and destroyed seven villages in raids in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state.
Members of the Lakurawa group attacked villages in the Bui district of Arewa northern region at around 1:15 pm (1215 GMT) Wednesday, said Kebbi state police spokesman Bashir Usman.
Usman said, “Scores of people were killed as residents from Mamunu, Awasaka, Tungan Tsoho, Makangara, Kanzo, Gorun Naidal, and Dan Mai Ago mobilised to resist the attackers.”
A resident in one of the villages said at least 35 people had been killed.
“We were in our homes, we heard gunshots,” said the resident of Kanzo.
“People outside began to run into their shelters, gunshots hit some people,” he added.
Police spokesman Usman said the attackers had also made off with cattle in the raids. Police, soldiers, and local militia were immediately sent to the area, he added.
Nigeria is grappling with a more than 16-year jihadist insurgency in the northeast, as well as a farmer-herder conflict in the north-central region.
Nigeria is now looking to the United States for technical and training support for its troops fighting the jihadists after a resurgence of violence strained relationships between the two countries.
The US Africa Command said 200 troops were expected to join the deployment overall.
