BREAKING: Gunmen kill 15 herdsmen in Zamfara
Gunmen believed to be cattle thieves killed 15 herders in the latest bout of violence in northern Nigeria’s herding communities, police and a local official said Thursday.
“Armed bandits attacked Bawon-Daji village yesterday and killed 15 people,” the police spokesman for Zamfara state, Muhammad Shehu, told AFP.
His account was corroborated by a senior local government official, Gado Anka.
Anka told AFP motorcycle-riding gunmen stormed the remote village in Anka district around 1:00 pm (1200GMT), shooting dead 12 residents before fleeing to a hideout in the bush.
“They returned two hours later and attacked mourners during the funeral of the victims in the cemetery, killing three more and injuring several others,” he said.
Rural communuties in the agrarian state are under siege from gangs who kill, loot and torching homes.
This has prompted villages to form vigilante groups — which in turn are often accused of extra-judicial killings of suspected cattle thieves, prompting deadly reprisals by the gangs.
It was not clear if the latest killings were as a result of reprisals.
VIA PUNCH
More Stories
INSECURITY: TROOPS ELIMINATE 358 TERRORISTS, ARREST 431 SUSPECTS, RESCUE 249 HOSTAGES — DHQ
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) announced on Friday that, in January, troops across various operational theaters in the country neutralized 358...
BIAFRA: WE’LL RESIST A’COURT’s RULING UPHOLDING IPOB PROSCRIPTION — NNAMDI KANU
The embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has pledged to challenge the ruling of the...
TINUBU WAGING WAR AGAINST OPPOSITION, NOT CORRUPTION, ATIKU ALLEGES
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of using state institutions as tools to target political opponents...
EFCC ARRAIGNS 13 CHINESE NATIONALS, COMPANY OVER ALLEGED INTERNET FRAUD (PHOTOS)
Nearly two months after announcing the significant arrest of 193 foreigners and 599 Nigerians for offenses related to Cryptocurrency Investment...
SECURITY FORCES ARREST 31 VANDALS, RECOVER TRANSFORMER COMPONENTS, OTHERS WORTH N1BN IN ABUJA (PHOTOS)
A joint security task force comprising the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, the Military, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence...
50% TARIFF HIKE: NANS DISTANCES SELF FROM NLC PLANNED PROTEST
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Friday distanced itself from the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC)’s planned protest against...