No fewer than 21 people are feared d+ad after heavily armed bandits att@cked Tsamaye community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, leaving 37 others abd¥cted and forcing thousands of residents to flee.
According to residents, the att@ck lasted from about 9:00 p.m. on Monday until after 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, with the g¥nmen burning two houses, stealing livestock and leaving the community deserted.
Locals said three residents were k+lled during the att@ck, while 18 others, mostly women and children, are feared to have drowned after overloaded boats capsized as villagers attempted to escape across a river. Seven people were rescued alive.
Residents said the bandits later answered calls made to some victims’ phones and claimed they had abd¥cted 37 people, many of them women and children. Some of the victims were reportedly seized from nearby farms where they had been spending the night to avoid repeated att@cks.
Survivors accused security operatives of failing to respond despite being alerted before the invasion, while a local vigilante said officers lacked the equipment needed to confront the att@ckers.
The att@ck displaced residents from Tsamaye and several neighbouring communities, with locals saying more than 100 vehicles were used to evacuate fleeing families.
Sabon Birni LGA Chairman Ayuba Hashimu confirmed the attack but said casualty figures were still being verified. The Sokoto State Police Command also confirmed the incident, adding that additional security personnel had been deployed to restore peace and prevent further attacks.
