Bandits on motorcycles have attacked Matusgi and Goran Namaye communities in Zamfara State, killing at least 11 people and abducting over 80 others.
Matusgi is in Talata Mafara local government, while Goran Namaye is in Maradun local government.
The attacks, sources said, happened Monday morning.
In the Goran Namaye attack, 10 people were said to have been killed by bandits who stormed the village and operated for more than five hours.
Hamza Bakura, a resident of Bakura, which is close to Goran Namaye said the attack started from 1:00am.
“Immediately they entered the village, they started shooting but most of them killed were not killed by the bandits’ bullets but we’re slaughtered,” he said.
He added that when security operatives came around 4am, the bandits engaged them in gun duel.
Another source from the area who lives in Talata Mafara, Mudassir Muhammad, said those abducted were more than 70.
“In our house (in Mafara) they’re over 50 people taking refuge because of the attack. It was terrible because some of them trekked to Mafara from Gora in the morning. I’m sure you know the distance,” he said.
In Matusgi communtiy, a village under Talata Mafara but closer to Maradun local government, one person was said to have been killed in Monday’s attack.
A local journalist, who craved anonymity, said one person was killed during the attack while nine people have been kidnapped.
“But they’re still counting the number of those not seen after the attack. Some people might have run into the bush during the attack,” he said.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the police in Zamfara state, SP Mohammed Shehu, said he was in the mosque and would revert back.
Even when he didn’t call back, text messages sent to him by this reporter were ignored.
Ever since Nigeria Air force jets bombed bandit camps in the Sububu forest and the Bakura forest, bandits have intensified attacks on communities in Bakura, Maradun and Talata Mafara local government areas.
