Suspected cattle thieves kill 26 in NW Nigeria

Kano ( Nigeria), July 11: Tenty- six people were killed in two days of violence blamed on cattle thieves in northern Nigeria, the National Emergency Management Agency said on Wednesday.

Bandits on motorcycles attacked several villages on both sides of the border between Sokoto and Zamfara states on Monday and Tuesday, shooting residents, burning homes and stealing cows.

“At the moment, 26 dead bodies have been recovered from the attacks,” Nema spokesman Suleiman Kadir told AFP. “The toll may rise with the latest attack from yesterday ( Tuesday).”

Two of the affected villages were in the Rabah district of Sokoto, he said, adding that more than 1,000 people had been made homeless and travelled to the town of Gandi.

Kidnapping and cattle rustling gangs operate just over the state border, he added. The violence was “not unconnected”, he said.