Bandits kill 17 in Zamfara communities

No fewer than 17 persons have been killed after bandits attacked four villages in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

It was gathered that the heavily armed men invaded the Kadaddaba community in the afternoon, firing at them.

“They arrived on motorbikes, firing at people. We were just coming out of the mosque after we observed Zuhr prayer when we saw the motorbike riding gang coming.

“We alerted the people nearby and then dashed into the bush. They chased and knocked down the fleeing residents on motorbikes while they were shooting everyone at sight. They killed ten people in our community, including my father-in-law.

“In Rafin Doka, they killed one person, Babban Baye two, and in Wano community, they killed four people there. The villages are a few kilometres apart. As I’m talking to you I’m in Anka town taking refuge,” a resident identified as Hussaini said.

“Earlier, the armed men had raided Rafin Gero community market and herded away cattle that were brought to the livestock market for sale. They untethered the cows and other animals and went into the forest. The armed criminals had also carted away some goods from the shops they broke into. There are reports they killed people there but I can’t tell you the number of those killed now,” he added.

The spokesman of the state police command, SP Muhammad Shehu, could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this report.