Gunmen attack Sokoto village on Sallah Day, kill six, abduct many

GUNMEN suspected to be terrorists have killed six persons and abducted many others at a village in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

According to Channels Television, the gunmen were said to have stormed Tudun Doki village at about 1:30a.m. on Sallah day.

The Sokoto State Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Rufa’i, confirmed the attack.

He said six bodies had been retrieved so far, just as he added that the police have yet to ascertain the number of abducted persons.

Sokoto is one of several states in northwestern and central regions terrorised by heavily armed gangs, who carry out mass abductions for ransom as well as burning and looting homes.

The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have also undertaken large-scale kidnappings of pupils from schools in recent years.

Bandits have recently stepped up attacks, particularly in Katsina and Zamfara states.

Last month, the gangs raided four villages in Katsina State’s Sabuwa district, killing 25 people, mostly local vigilantes, in apparent reprisals over military offensives on their hideouts, according to a local official.

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