Nigerian gunmen killed at least 25 people in a raid on the village, officials said
Authorities said at least 25 people were killed and others kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina state.
Dozens of gunmen on motorbikes stormed Yargoje in Kankara late on Sunday, state security commissioner Nasiru Babangida Mu’azu told BBC Hausa.
Attacks by armed gangs – known locally as bandits – in northwest and central Nigeria have become almost routine, and authorities seem powerless to stop them. , despite claims by the government and security forces that they were working to end the widespread unrest.
Residents told the BBC that dozens of gunmen on motorbikes stormed the community, shooting indiscriminately and looting shops before kidnapping an unknown number of villagers.
“The number of people killed by the bandits is more than 50 people, as some corpses are still being recovered from the bushes,” said a resident who did not want to be named.
“They killed children, women and men, and kidnapped a large number of people. They injured more than 30 residents who are currently being treated at the general hospital.”
Another resident, Abdullahi Yunusa Kankara, told Reuters he narrowly escaped the onslaught and that the attack continued into the early hours of Monday.
“Our town has turned into a dead zone. Almost every house in the village became a victim of this attack. More corpses were found in this case [Monday] morning,” he said.
Surviving residents are trying to determine how many people were kidnapped.
In December 2020, more than 300 students were kidnapped by a group of gunmen on motorbikes from a boarding high school on the outskirts of Kankara. They were later released, a week after the Katsina state government confirmed they were negotiating with the kidnappers.
In March this year, dozens of passengers were kidnapped in a daylight attack in the same area of Katsina, the state where former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari lives.
