At least 10 people were killed in raids by suspected cattle rustlers on four remote villages in Zamfara State.
Residents of the affected community said the armed bandits stormed
the villages in Birnin Magaji area of Zamfara state, in an apparent
reprisal attack after local militia killed one of their numbers.
Police spokesperson, Mohammed Shehu told AFP that, “10 people were
killed by the bandits. From our reports, the attackers fled to the Rugu
forest in neighbouring Katsina state. We lost 26 people in the attacks
on Dutsin Wake, Oho, Badambaji and Kabingiro (villages),” said Dantani
Bube, who lives in Dutsin Wake.
Seventeen were killed in Dutsin Wake, seven in Oho and one each in
Badambaji and Kabingiro, another resident, Lawwali Maishanu, told AFP by
telephone from the area. Maishanu said local militia had earlier
killed a suspected bandit at a market. Bandits then demanded the
civilian vigilantes hand over those responsible, but they refused.
Bube and Maishanu said the gang then traced the militia members
suspected of the killing to the four villages. Zamfara has for several
years been gripped by violence from armed gangs of cattle rustlers who
have targeted herding and farming communities. Cattle have been stolen
and residents who resist them killed.
This has led to villagers forming civilian militia groups as
protection. But they, too, have been accused of abuses and killings of
suspected thieves, leading to tit-for-tat attacks. On June 2, cattle
thieves killed 23 people in the village of Zanoka after a battle with
militia members who prevented them from stealing cattle. In recent
years the gangs have added kidnapping for ransom to the criminal
activities across Zamfara and neighbouring Kaduna and Katsina states.