Suspected armed bandits have reportedly killed seven persons during an attack on Yanbuki village in Zamfara State.
The incident is said to have occurred on Tuesday evening in Zurmi Local Government Area of the state.
An eyewitness on Wednesday said immediately the bandits arrived in the village, they fired sporadic gunshots.
As a result of the large number of the assailants, residents were said to have become skeptical and ran to safety.
“We have conducted the burial of seven (7) people who lost their lives to the attack in Yanbuki,” said the witness who does not want his name mentioned.
“They have been ransacking houses – room by room – throughout the night, burgled shops, and carted away goods and foodstuffs belonging to the residents of the area.”
According to the source, the bandits rustled about 500 cows, as well as hundreds of sheep and goats during the attack.
He stated that this was the second attack by the bandits since the shutdown of the telecommunications network in the Yanbuki area.
Within the last one week, gunmen invaded and ransacked nine other villages in Zurmi LGA.
They include Bindin, Kadamutsa, Gidan Zago, Marmaro, Dada, Maduba, Kacha, Dangasamu, Hushin Dusti.
Residents of the communities are said to have fled their homes to take refuge in safer areas within and outside Zurmi.
During the invasion, over 40 people are reported to have been abducted by bandits who threatened to either kill or kidnap anyone found in the affected villages.
“The bandits move around freely within these villages and threatened people and with their brutality, people decided to flee because there are no security operatives to defend them,” a villager said.
Meanwhile both the Zamfara State Government and Police Command are yet to confirm the attacks.
