Bandits have killed two people and abducted 11 others during separate attacks on Taloka and Huda communities in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
A resident of Taloka told Daily Trust that dozens of bandits riding about 20 motorcycles invaded the community at around 12:30 am on Tuesday.
He said residents were alerted by gunshots as the assailants stormed the village and went from house to house.
He said the bandits first invaded a room where several youths usually sleep. Although the youths managed to escape, the attackers succeeded in abducting one of them.
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According to the resident, the bandits later stormed the house of one Alhaji Yusuf, where they abducted him, his daughter and daughter-in-law, while killing one of his nephews, identified as Abdullahi Dan Almajiri.
They also invaded the house of Mallam Gado Dan Tsohuwa and abducted two married women before proceeding to the house of Alu Kansila, where they abducted his two children, a girl and a boy.
The resident said that after taking eight residents away, Alhaji Yusuf told the bandits that he could not continue with them because of his advanced age. The assailants subsequently killed him and abandoned his corpse, which was later recovered and buried by residents.
In a separate attack in Huda village, a resident told Daily Trust that farmers were working on their farmlands at about 9:30 am on Monday when the bandits stormed the area and forced some of them onto their motorcycles.
“I was at home when my children informed me that bandits had raided our farms and abducted five members of our community. Many of the farmers fled, but the attackers succeeded in abducting five people before releasing one of them,” he said.
He identified those abducted as Samaila Salisu, Musa Abdu, Naziru Saidu and Dan Abu Abdulkarim, while Basiru Bawa was later released.
The resident alleged that bandits had previously killed several people in the area and abducted 46 residents during Ramadan, who were released after payment of N12 million ransom and three motorcycles.
He added that the latest incident was the 11th attack on the community.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, said he was not aware of the attacks but said he would verify the reports from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Goronyo.
As of the time of filing this report, he had not provided further information.
2 kidnappers arrested, 10-year-old boy rescued
The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested two suspected kidnappers in separate operations and rescued a 10-year-old boy, Muhammad Sufiyanu, abducted in Gidan Madi Town, Tangaza LGA.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Ahmad Rufa’i, said in a statement on Wednesday that operatives arrested Abdullahi Buba, alias “Osho,” on August 8 during a raid on a criminal hideout in Tudun Doki Village, Gwadabawa LGA.
He said preliminary investigation showed that Buba was a member of a kidnapping syndicate allegedly involved in abductions and imposing illegal levies on communities in Gwadabawa, Kware and Gada LGAs.
Rufa’i said the boy was rescued on Tuesday after detectives intercepted two men on a motorcycle carrying a sack. The suspects fled, abandoning the sack, in which the boy was found alive.
He said one suspect had been arrested and investigations were ongoing.
