Suspected bandits have killed two residents and abducted 11 others in separate attacks on Taloka and Huda communities in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
A Taloka resident told Daily Trust that about 20 motorcycles carrying several dozen bandits stormed the community around 12:30am on Tuesday. Residents were alerted by gunshots as the attackers moved from house to house.
The bandits first entered a room where youths usually slept. The youths escaped, but one was abducted.
They later invaded Alhaji Yusuf’s house, abducting him, his daughter and his son’s wife. One of his nephews, Abdullahi Dan Almajiri, was killed.
The attackers also abducted two married women from Mallam Gado Dan Tsohuwa’s house and two children, a boy and a girl, from Alu Kansila’s home.
After abducting eight residents, Yusuf told the bandits he could not continue because of his age. They killed him and left his body, which residents later recovered and buried.
Residents complained that security personnel in the community failed to respond to distress calls.
“We have security personnel in the village, but whenever we call them, they do not come until the operation is over. They will then come and ask unnecessary questions,” one resident said.
“We have security personnel in our village, but they did not come to our aid despite our calls for help. We are not happy about this. We are calling for assistance,” he added.
In Huda, farmers were working around 9:30am on Monday when bandits attacked and forced some onto motorcycles. Five people were abducted, though one was later released.
Those abducted were Samaila Salisu, Musa Abdu, Naziru Saidu and Dan Abu Abdulkarim, while Basiru Bawa was released.
The resident said bandits had previously killed several people and abducted 46 residents during Ramadan. They were released after N12 million ransom and three motorcycles were paid.
He said the latest attack was the 11th and residents had no safer farmland nearby because the areas around the village were rocky.
He appealed for government action to restore peace and allow farming to continue.
He also spent Tuesday night in the bush after hearing gunshots around midnight, with residents believing the attackers had moved into the area after attacking Taloka.
Sokoto police spokesperson DSP Ahmad Rufai said he was unaware of the attacks but would verify the reports with the Goronyo DPO.
