How bandits killed over 70 in Sokoto

Residents of some communities in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto state yesterday recounted how bandits killed more than 70 inhabitants.

The attack was launched around 5pm Wednesday but details only reached the state capital in the early hours of yesterday.

The latest attacks in Sokoto are continuation of relentless onslaught on innocent citizens in the states in parts of the north western parts of Nigeria.

The affected villages include Garki, Dan Aduwa, Kuzari, Katuma and Masawa.

Besides the over 70 people killed, dozens of other sustained injuries while properties worth millions of naira have been destroyed. Locals said economic activities have been crippled as the attackers whose real motive remains elusive continued to kill and maim.

During the Wednesday siege, locals said the bandits rode on over 150 motorcycles each carrying at least two assailants with some of them carrying

AK47.

“These people did not take anything…They just came and started shooting people,” one of the residents, Muhammad Rabiu Abubakar, lamented.

“Look at the casualty, as I am talking to you, we are seeing dead bodies, more than 74,” he said.

Some residents of Sabon Birni, the local government headquarters said they heard the gunshots from their ends.

The attack on Wednesday followed an earlier one on Sunday, which prompted Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to visit the local government area.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday directed security operatives to go to Sokoto and restore order.