No fewer than 12 people have been killed in an attack by bandits who invaded Sakajiki village in Kaura Namoda Emirate in Zamfara State.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Zamfara, Mohammed Shehu, confirmed the incident on Friday.
He said the casualties recorded in the incident would have been more if not for the response of the police operatives deployed in the area.
Narrating how the attack occurred, a source in the village said that the assailants arrived at about 9pm on Thursday and were there for several hours.
Another source explained that the persons who were confirmed dead were those whose bodies were brought to the open, while a search for those not seen was ongoing.
He added that at least a dozen persons were confirmed dead as the attackers continued with their operation until around 4am on Friday.
They also set several shops and other houses ablaze, including an edifice of a police outpost in the area, as well as several vehicles – one of which was a police patrol van.
The team of police mobile force operatives, according to him, tried their best to repel the attack, but they were purportedly overpowered by the bandits.
Shehu, on his part, disclosed that the commissioner of police in Zamfara has deployed an additional squad for reinforcement.
He assured the people of the area that the command would redouble its efforts to ensure that banditry was wiped out of the state.
