Bandits invade Sokoto communities, sack villages, rustle hundreds of livestock

Residents of several communities in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State were thrown into panic on Tuesday morning after heavily armed bandits launched coordinated attacks on multiple villages, forcing many people to flee while making away with hundreds of livestock.

Shagari Local Government, the hometown of Nigeria’s Second Republic President, Shehu Usman Shagari, is located about 50 kilometres from Sokoto metropolis and is less than an hour’s drive from the state capital.

A resident of one of the affected communities, who requested anonymity for security reasons, described the attack as devastating, saying villagers were caught unprepared as the gunmen stormed their communities.

“You need to see how an entire village went up in panick mood just because of some few miscreants who possess assorted rifles and using same to commit all manner of crimes against humanity.

“They came in large number and stormed our village shooting sporadically to intimidate people. Though, they were saying nobody should run that their mission is not to kill. They spoke fluent fulfude and Hausa language before leaving with hundred of livestocks,” the source disclosed.

The source said the attackers invaded several communities simultaneously, leaving residents terrified and many villages deserted.

Communities reportedly affected include Gangam, Lambara, Horo Birni, Lungu, Tungabbarki, Wanke, Kaura and Bela, among others.

According to the resident, the attackers rustled hundreds of cows and other livestock before fleeing the area.

Efforts to obtain an official response from the Sokoto State Police Command were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report. Calls placed to the Police Public Relations Officer were not answered, while a text message sent for confirmation had yet to receive a response.