Sokoto State in Northwest Nigeria is notorious for kidnapping and banditry activities
At least five people, including a respected Islamic cleric, have been killed while scores of residents were abducted following separate terrorists’ attacks on communities in Goronyo and Tureta Local Government Areas of Sokoto State.
The latest assaults came as residents of Gorau village in Goronyo Local Government Area were still grieving the loss of 65 people, who died in a recent boat accident.
During the attack on Gorau, terrorists reportedly killed four residents, abducted four others and left several people with varying degrees of injuries.
In a separate incident, armed attackers stormed Gidan Kare village in Tureta Local Government Area, where they killed an Islamic scholar, Mallam Abubakar Danjimme, and abducted an unspecified number of residents.
Confirming both incidents, the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmed Rufai, said police had received reports of the attacks but noted that details of casualties from the Gidan Kare incident were still being compiled at the time this report was filed.
Residents alleged that the attackers who invaded Gorau specifically targeted families that had recently lost relatives in the boat tragedy.
The bereaved families had earlier received ₦1 million each and bags of grains from the Sokoto State Government during a condolence visit led by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, Deputy Governor Mohammed Idris Gobir and other government officials, acting on behalf of Governor Ahmed Aliyu.
The Village Head of Gorau, Alhaji Aliyu Magaji Na-Batsami, said 11 people were shot during the attack.
“Eleven people were shot by the terrorists. Seven of them survived and were rushed to the hospital for treatment, while four others died instantly.
“The attackers calculatively targeted families who lost loved ones in the recent boat tragedy, apparently in search of the ₦1 million relief money reportedly donated by the Sokoto State Government to each bereaved family.
“They went from house to house searching for the money. Their main target appeared to be families of those who died in the boat accident.”
Reacting to the incident, the member representing Gada/Goronyo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Bashir Usman Gorau, expressed deep sorrow over what he described as another devastating tragedy for the affected communities and extended his condolences to the bereaved families.
In Gidan Kare village, terrorists struck again on Thursday, killing Islamic teacher Mallam Abubakar Danjimme before abducting several residents.
The exact number of those kidnapped was yet to be confirmed.
Gidan Kare is one of several communities in Tureta Local Government where insecurity has forced many residents to abandon their homes every evening and seek refuge in Tureta town, returning only during the day to attend to their farms and other daily activities.
One of the displaced residents, Malam Ibrahim Dangaskiya, who has since relocated to Sokoto metropolis for safety, described the worsening security situation in the area.
“For a very long time now, only the men sleeps with all their eyes widely opened in the village while the youths, women and children makes it a daily routine to trek to Tureta town to stay alive.
He added that the terrorists adopted a new strategy during Thursday’s attack.
“They came to the village in the morning and opened fire on anything at sight.”
Dangaskiya also identified some of those abducted as Mallam Dan Manga, Shehu, Hassana, Hussaina, Badaru and Saratu, adding that several other residents remained missing, with their identities yet to be confirmed.
The attacks have heightened fears among residents of rural communities in Sokoto State, where repeated terrorist raids continue to claim lives, displace families and worsen the humanitarian situation despite ongoing security efforts.
