On Monday, travellers moving towards the southern parts of the country were set ablaze by suspected bandits based in the Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State. Five deaths confirmed.
In search of livelihood, approximately 10 travelers, including a Nigerien and residents of Sabon Birni Local Government, were on their way to Gadan Gayan in Kaduna when the bandits attacked their vehicle and set it on fire. Two men miraculously escaped the burning vehicle.
The victim, who was sitting on a hospital bed with burns on his body, said, “I’m from Rumbukawa. We were attacked by bandits yesterday before we reached Bayin Gidan Bawa. They shot several people that tried to escape and burnt down the vehicle. I don’t know what happened to my co-passengers but two of us miraculously escaped death,”
Five other passengers, three women, a girl, and a man, died from their injuries in the hospital.
Idris Gobir, who is a former local government chairman of Sabon Birni, confirmed the incident, saying the bandits are now on the loose, causing havoc among the helpless villagers.
“Aside from kidnapping and animal rustling, they now rob people of their motorcycles, phones and other valuables, right on their farmlands. They recently abducted nine people at Masawa village,” Mr Gobir stated.
As of the time of publication, several calls and a text message sent to Sanusi Abubakar, the spokesman for the Sokoto State Police Command, had gone unanswered.
