Armed bandits attacked the Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing 15 persons with several persons sustaining varying degrees of injuries.
Local sources said the suspected assailants stormed Kwallaijiya village in the early hours of Wednesday and started shooting sporadically and in the process killed over 15 persons.
Some community members expressed concern over the persistent violence in the area, alleging that some persons in parts of the community collaborated with terrorists unleashing violence on citizens in the area.
Community members claimed that the recent attack was carried out by a group of notorious bandits in the area identified as Charambe.
The Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Council, Isa Bashir Kalanjeni, led a delegation to the village and attended the mass burial of the victims.
The police in the state are yet to confirm the incident as the Command’s spokesperson was yet to respond to phone calls to his mobile lines.
In recent months, Sokoto State, located in North-West Nigeria, has been in the news over renewed terrorist attacks by group like Lakurawa.
The military authorities have since vowed to eliminate Lakurawa insurgents and other terror groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
In June, an explosion rocked the same Tangaza Local Government Area and killed eight persons.
The blast occurred during Eid-el-Kabir celebrations and was caused by a locally made improvised explosive device (IED).
The explosion site, Dorawa, was near Lakurawa camp — a known bandit stronghold.
Police spokesperson in the state ASP Ahmed Rufai had confirmed that the IED exploded as victims traveled from Gwabro to Zurmuku, detonating near a security post under a tree close to Zurmuku—another area plagued by banditry.
Giving a vivid account of what transpired, an eyewitness, who simply gave his name as Hashimu, said the sad incident happened Sunday afternoon during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
