At least seven people died and 150 were kidnapped, most of them women and children, in attacks by armed men against several communities in the state of Zamfara, in northwestern Nigeria, civil society sources confirmed to EFE.
“Dozens of bandits attacked the communities of Kurfa Danya and Kurfan Magaji, in the Bukuyyum area, on Thursday night, as well as others, and murdered seven people,” said the secretary of the Zamfara Civil Society Coalition, Arrahiru Mohammed.
The attackers arrived on numerous motorcycles and fired “indiscriminately”, kidnapped at least 150 people, “mostly women and children”, destroyed homes and stole livestock from those populations.
“They have left communities immersed in pain. The government must act decisively in the face of this situation, we cannot continue like this. We cannot continue to see how bandits invade our communities and massacre our people at will. We must act now”, concluded Mohammed.
The state police spokesman, Yazidi Abubakar, confirmed the attack to EFE, but without specifying the number of dead or people kidnapped.
“Yes, there was an attack in Bukuyyum in which many people were kidnapped. We still don’t have all the details, but we are taking the necessary measures to capture those responsible and rescue the victims,” Abubakar explained.
Some states in Nigeria, especially in the center and northwest of the country, suffer constant attacks by bandits, a term used to name criminal groups that commit mass robberies and kidnappings for ransom, which authorities sometimes call “terrorists”.
Added to this insecurity is the activity of the extremist group Boko Haram in the northeast of the country and, since 2016, its split, the Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP).
In the northwest, Lakurawa, a group apparently linked to the terrorist organization Islamic State – Sahara Province (ISSP), also regularly commits attacks in the states of Kebbi and Sokoto.
