Banditry: Eight killed in Kebbi attack, 16 abducted in Zamfara

No fewer than eight persons have been killed following coordinated attacks by gunmen on Kaiwa, Gelawu and Gebbe villages in Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State, triggering panic and mass displacement of residents.

This was as 16 women were abducted in Zamfara State with two others killed. The incidents happened on a day, bandits demanded N500m for the release of five road construction workers kidnapped in Kwara State on December 15.

The renewed attacks come only days after the US security forces conducted an air raid on terrorists’ enclaves in Sokoto State.

Local sources said the attackers stormed the Kebbi community without warning, firing sporadically and causing widespread fear and confusion. The assault, described as the worst in the area in many years, forced residents to abandon their homes in search of safety.

“The community is traumatised. We have not experienced this level of violence in a long time,” a resident said.

No fewer than eight persons have been killed following coordinated attacks by gunmen on Kaiwa, Gelawu and Gebbe villages in Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State, triggering panic and mass displacement of residents.

This was as 16 women were abducted in Zamfara State with two others killed. The incidents happened on a day, bandits demanded N500m for the release of five road construction workers kidnapped in Kwara State on December 15.

The renewed attacks come only days after the US security forces conducted an air raid on terrorists’ enclaves in Sokoto State.

Local sources said the attackers stormed the Kebbi community without warning, firing sporadically and causing widespread fear and confusion. The assault, described as the worst in the area in many years, forced residents to abandon their homes in search of safety.

“The community is traumatised. We have not experienced this level of violence in a long time,” a resident said.

Confirming the incident to SOCIETY WATCH, the spokesman for the Kebbi State Police Command, SP Bashir Usman, said seven victims died during the attacks, while one additional victim later died while receiving treatment.

He added that another injured victim is currently responding to medical care.

Security agencies have sustained coordinated operations within the affected areas, while intensified patrols and surveillance are ongoing to forestall further breaches,” Usman said, noting that he could not disclose further details because the operation was still ongoing.

Residents described the attacks as devastating, saying the affected communities had not witnessed such violence in many years.

“The entire area is in shock. People are afraid to return home,” a resident said.

Security operatives have since been deployed to the affected villages to restore calm, while residents appealed to the state government to strengthen security in the area.

Efforts to reach traditional leaders in the affected communities for comments were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, worried residents appealed to the state government and security agencies to urgently intervene, describing the attack as deadly and devastating.

In a related development in Zamfara State, sixteen women were kidnapped, two were killed and several others sustained serious injuries when gunmen believed to be bandits attacked Sabon-Layi village of Wanke district in Gusau Local Government Area.

The attack came barely three weeks after bandits collected N8m ransom from the same village and released seven women they had earlier kidnapped.

An indigene of the village, Ibrahim Garba, told The PUNCH that the bandits, who were riding motorcycles, entered the village around 1am last Sunday and went from house to house, kidnapping only women.

According to Garba, the bandits kidnapped several women and attempted to take them into the forest, but some of the victims refused to go.

“As such, the bandits opened fire, as a result of which two women were killed and several others sustained serious injuries,” he said.

“The injured women are currently receiving treatment at the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau,” Garba added.