Heavily armed bandits attacked Tsamaye community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing no fewer than 21 persons, abducting 37 others while thousands of inhabitants fled their houses.
Witnesses told our correspondent that the onslaught, which lasted from approximately 9:00 p.m. yesterday to after 3:00 a.m. today, also left two homes burnt, animals taken and the whole town deserted.
Daily Trust reported that the attack has also brought another tragedy as scores of locals tried to escape over a river on receiving knowledge that the robbers were coming.
The boats, overloaded, capsized, and approximately 25 people, mostly women and children, carried away in the water, local residents said.
Seven people were retrieved alive but 18 others are thought drowned as families kept searching for missing relatives.
One of the residents who was planning to depart from the area informed Daily Trust that the perpetrators themselves confirmed that 37 people were abducted after relatives called the victims” phones.
“When we called our relatives, the bandits picked up the calls and said they were the ones who abducted them. “They said they took 37 people,” he said.
Some of the victims were arrested in the village but many others were captured on surrounding farms where they had gone to sleep for fear of renewed attacks, he said.
“Due to the incessant attacks, many people do not sleep in the village any longer. They spend the night in the bushes and farms to avoid attacks. This time the bandits went through the farms, waking people awake and taking them away.
Most of the abducted were women and children. “I saw three infants, I saw three infants on the ground by the bandits, their mothers were led away.”
The resident said he called the security staff and told them about the invasion, but no reinforcement came before the intruders finished their operation.
“We let them go in the last attack because the bandits had surrounded them and fired on them. But this time they were told early enough and no one came to our rescue.”
Another villager who escaped to Sokoto metropolis early hours of Tuesday said his community had been entirely dispersed and everyone ran for their safety.
We ran to Sokoto because we have never seen terror like that of Wednesday night. “Some 40 of us managed to get away and everyone is staying with relatives presently.
The robbers arrived in the village first at approximately 8:00 p.m. and moved from house to house, demanding villagers to identify rich houses and where livestock was kept, claimed a member of a local vigilante group who asked not to be named for security reasons.
“Some of them managed to get away and told us. We told the security men posted in our hamlet and requested them to back us so that we can face the bandits but they told us they do not have appropriate equipment. We also talked to our traditional leader but there was little he could do but to sympathise with us.
“We had no choice but to hide when the gunfire escalated.
He said the security troops need Armoured troops Carriers (APCs) urgently to be able to respond effectively to attacks in the challenging terrains.
“More than 100 vehicles have been transporting the displaced villagers from the community which now has less than 20 residents after the attack, since yesterday evening till now,” he added.
“Nobody has eaten from yesterday until today, because of the trauma and the panic from the attack,” he claimed.
The residents reportedly alleged the criminals burnt two houses belonging to Lawwali Ta’u Mai Chaji and Hassan Hasken Halara, a member of the vigilante.
“His house was torched while we were defending the village together with our colleague. We only found ashes later on. “We cannot even tell the number of family members or livestock that died in the fire. Everything was burnt to ashes.”
Those confirmed killed during the attack according to residents include Kabiru Mallam Tanimu, Ayuba Mallam Hashim and Yakubu Mu”azu while many others are still missing.
The attack has also caused residents to flee from many nearby settlements. The affected communities include Borai, Tsululu, Garin Tudu, Bukka Hamsin, Turkawa, Rumbukawa, Dutsin Na Umma, Zangon Mu’azu, Arawa, Kuru, Zangon Mallam, Mai Hurde, Zugun, Gidan Na Birni, Mashaya, Marina and many others.
The evacuated people urged to the federal and Sokoto State governments to immediately send more security officers and more APCs to enable the security operatives to recapture the area and let the affected families to return home securely.
The Chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area, Ayuba Hashimu, confirmed the incidents but stated he could not independently verify the casualty counts.
“The things did happen but I wasn’t there myself. So I have to check the figures before I can validate them’, he said.
The attack was confirmed by the spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, who said that more security personnel had been dispatched to restore order and forestall further attacks in the targeted villages.
It will be recalled that bandits assaulted Tsamaye community in the same local government area on Wednesday, killing eight persons including three worshippers inside a mosque, indicating the rising insecurity in Sabon Birni Local Government Area.
Sabon Birni remains one of the most affected local government areas in Sokoto state and the wider North-West, where armed groups have continued to carry out murderous attacks, mass abductions and extensive displacement, despite security operations that have been ongoing.
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