Residents said 18 people were killed on Sunday morning when gunmen loyal to a notorious bandit kingpin, Damina, attacked Kango and Dangulbi villages in Zamfara’s Maru Local Government Area.
Residents said several people who fled the attack have yet to return.
Maru Local Government is a hotbed of banditry in the state.
After the attack, the 18 victims were buried according to Islamic rites, according to a village leader who did not want to be identified.
Another source, Shehu Ismaila, a resident of Maru town, said 13 people were killed in Dangulbi and five in Kango. Mr. Ismaila is from Dangulbi.
According to Mr Ismaila, the bandits attacked Kango first before moving on to Dangulbi, where they killed some of the residents working on their farms.
“Six people were killed outside the community, while the remaining seven were killed inside the main village.” “Those killed were early risers who were possibly trying to do some farm work before returning home to continue with the Sallah celebrations,” he said.
He also stated that the five people killed in Kango were all shot.
He claimed that their funeral was postponed until the evening because “all the residents fled.”
Yusuf Abdullahi, a Dansadau resident, said his sister-in-law almost got caught up in the attack when she went to spend the Sallah holiday with her aunt in Dangulbi community.
“She called to say she was fine, but one of their neighbours was killed, and several people in the house she went to are still missing,” he said.
Many of those who have gone missing are believed to be hiding in the bush and may return.
Mr. Ismaila stated that the bandits’ leader, Damina, demanded N2 million last week.
from the Dangulbi community as a ‘protection levy’ He claimed that members of the community were unable to raise the funds.
However, the village leader stated that a truce had been reached with Damina and that they did not expect him to attack the village.
“We sat with him (Damina) in the presence of the Local Government Chairman, and they promised to stop firing.”
Despite community leaders’ pleas and promises, he said, the bandits continued their attacks.
“I am not aware of any two-million-dollar cease-fire demand.” But I was present at the truce meeting, and we demanded that they allow our people to use the Dangulbi-Magami-Gusau road, which is only 100 kilometres long, but he refused. “I know if there were any such demands, I would have been informed,” he said.
Mohammed Shehu, the state police spokesman, did not return calls or SMS messages seeking comment on the attack.
Marauding bandits have been attacking communities in the North-west states and parts of North-central Nigeria.
Hundreds of people, including security agents, have been killed this year alone, while others have been displaced.
