Gunmen kill six, abduct many in Sokoto community

No fewer than six people have been confirmed dead in an attack by bandits on Tudun Doki Village in Gwadabawa Local Council of Sokoto State.

Police spokesperson for the state command, Ahmed Rufai, said the attack happened, “in the early hours” of Sunday – a day Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid-el-Kabir.”

He said six bodies were retrieved after the onslaught, adding that the number of people abducted “is yet to be ascertained.”

The spokesperson went on: “The village is far away from the main town. Accessing the village is very difficult because of the inability of vehicles to reach there. Most operations go there on motorcycles.

“We are only able to receive reports about the six people confirmed dead. It happened in the early hours of today (yesterday) and people would be going to mosques, so we cannot proceed to the field. We had to get the six people to the hospital, where they were confirmed dead.

“As I speak to you now, the DPO and his men have been mobilised to ascertain the number of abducted.”

Sokoto has been one of the hotbeds of kidnapping and banditry in recent months.
It is one of several states in northwestern and central regions terrorised by heavily armed gangs, who carry out mass abductions for ransom, as well as burning and looting homes.

The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have also undertaken large-scale kidnappings of pupils from schools in recent years.

Bandits have recently stepped up attacks, particularly in Katsina and Zamfara states.