Bandits Kill 2, Abduct 11 Residents In Sokoto

Suspected bandits have killed two residents and abducted 11 others during separate attacks on Taloka and Huda communities in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

A resident of Taloka told Daily Trust that several dozen bandits riding about 20 motorcycles invaded the community at around 12:30am on Tuesday. He said residents were alerted by gunshots as the assailants stormed the village and went from house to house.

He said the bandits first invaded a room where several youths usually sleep. Although the youths managed to escape, the attackers succeeded in abducting one of them.

According to the resident, the bandits later stormed the house of one Alhaji Yusuf, where they abducted him, his daughter and his son’s wife, while killing one of his nephews, identified as Abdullahi Dan Almajiri.

They also invaded the house of Mallam Gado Dan Tsohuwa and abducted two married women before proceeding to the house of Alu Kansila, where they abducted his two children, a girl and a boy.

The resident said after taking eight residents away, Alhaji Yusuf told the bandits that he could not continue with them because of his advanced age. The assailants subsequently killed him and abandoned his corpse, which was later recovered and buried by residents.

Residents expressed concern over what they described as the inability of security personnel stationed in the community to respond to distress calls during attacks.

“We have security personnel in the village, but whenever we call them, they do not come until the operation is over. They will then come and ask unnecessary questions,” One of the residents said.

He said the community had no means of confronting the attackers because they were not armed. “We have security personnel in our village, but they did not come to our aid despite our calls for help. We are not happy about this. We are calling for assistance,” he said.

In a separate attack in Huda village, a resident told Daily Trust that farmers were working on their farmlands at about 9:30am on Monday when the bandits stormed the area and forced some of them onto their motorcycles.

“I was at home when my children informed me that bandits had raided our farms and abducted five members of our community. Many of the farmers fled, but the attackers succeeded in abducting five people before releasing one of them,” he said.

He identified those abducted as Samaila Salisu, Musa Abdu, Naziru Saidu and Dan Abu Abdulkarim, while Basiru Bawa was later released.

The resident alleged that bandits had previously killed several people in the area and abducted 46 residents during Ramadan, who were released after payment of N12 million ransom and three motorcycles.

He added that the latest incident was the 11th attack on the community.

He said residents had no alternative farmland because areas close to the village were rocky, forcing them to cultivate distant farmlands despite security risks.

He appealed for government intervention to restore peace and enable them to continue farming activities.

The resident also said he spent Tuesday night in the bush after hearing gunshots around midnight, adding that residents believed the attackers had moved into their area after carrying out the attack in Taloka.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, said he was not aware of the attacks but said he will verify the reports from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Goronyo.

As of the time of filing this report, he had not provided further information.

The latest attacks have heightened concerns over worsening insecurity in the area, forcing many residents to live in fear and abandon their communities.(Daily trust)