Zamfara State was on Friday thrown into mourning as bandits reportedly killed no fewer than 50 residents of Dutsin Dan Ajiya village, Anka Local Government area of the state.
Corpses of the victims were robed in white in preparation for a mass burial as seen in a video by Saturday PUNCH.
A resident of the village, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the bandits, who carried sophisticated weapons, raided the village on Thursday night and shot sporadically.
He added that the terrorists blocked all access roads linking the community to prevent people from running away.
He said, “After blocking all the roads, the bandits started to shoot at sight and the villagers ran helter-skelter.
“After the attack, we realised that 30 people were killed; some were wounded, while several others are at large and nobody knows their whereabouts.”
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the attackers also abducted many residents during the raid which lasted till the wee hours of Friday.
However, Reuters said at least 50 people were killed in the attack.
A lawmaker representing Bukkuyum South, Hamisu Faru, told the news agency that the attackers raided the village from around 5pm on Thursday until about 3.30am on Friday, burning down buildings and shooting residents who tried to flee.
“They have been moving from one village to another … leaving at least 50 people dead,” Faru added.
A 41-year-old resident of the village, Abdullahi Sani, also said three family members were killed in the attack.
He said, “No one slept yesterday, we are all in pain.”
According to Sani, residents alerted security forces and local authorities when they saw more than 150 motorcycles carrying the hoodlums, but they got no support.
The state police spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, could not be reached for comment.
He did not take his calls and had yet to respond to a text message sent to him as of press time.
Also, an aide to the governor promised to get back to Saturday PUNCH on the incident.
He had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
The attack came a day after the Zamfara State Government donated Armoured Personnel Carriers and a drone to security personnel to fight against banditry.
The Minister of Defence, Gen Christopher Musa (rtd), who received the donation, had urged troops of the Nigerian Army to take decisive measures against any bandit or terrorist who failed to surrender or lay down their arms during the operation.
