Bandits raid Sokoto village, kill father, daughter, abduct 17 in fresh attack

Deadly attack is carried out by suspected bandits in Garin Faji community in Sabon Birni LGA, causing devastation and losses.

In the attack, a father and his eight years old daughter lost their lives, 17 others were abducted, and rustling of about 50 cows was perpetrated by the criminals.

Some sources from the locality informed our paper that the armed gang came into the village in very large numbers, marching on foot after leaving their motorcycles a few kilometers away as a means to not alert people to their presence because of the noise engines made.

According to a resident who wanted his identity concealed due to security reasons, on their arrival, the gunmen started shooting haphazardly, causing people to flee in all directions.

“I was in my shop at around 12:00 midnight yesterday, when I heard gunshot which indicated that they had arrived. I closed up and fled immediately,” he said.

According to him, the gunmen later entered into a building and shot dead a man called Haruna Dan Kwambo and his 8-year-old daughter.

“The gunmen entered the same house and abducted his wives, his brother’s wives and his brother’s children wives.”

A total of 17 persons were reportedly kidnapped by the attackers, comprising three men as the others were women and children.

The group of attackers also stole about 50 heads of cattle from the locals.

The attack, according to sources, was not the first as earlier kidnappings and killings have occurred in the area.

There was another event where locals escaping bandits in boats ended up drowning as they capsized, resulting in the death of at least 10 people.

“They stayed for roughly one hour in our town before moving away. We were lucky that security agents arrived at our location before they completed their act,” one of the sources reported.

“We are appealing to authorities to save our loved ones who were kidnapped from us. This situation is really too much to bear,” the informant added.

Attempts to reach DSP Ahmad Rufai, Police Public Relations Officer in the state, on the issue through phone calls and text messages were futile, without success.