Suspected bandits have killed four persons and carted away property worth hundreds of millions of naira during separate attacks on Gandi and Maikujera communities in Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Residents told our source that the attacks occurred between Friday evening and Saturday morning, with the gunmen rustling large numbers of livestock, looting shops and fuel outlets, and forcing many residents to flee their homes.
A resident of Gandi, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the attackers stormed the community at about 7am on Saturday after driving away more than 1,500 cattle from surrounding settlements.
According to him, the bandits attempted to break into a filling station to steal fuel, but found it locked.
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“They became angry and repeatedly shot at a fuel dispensing pump, destroying it. They later moved to black market fuel vendors where they stole large quantities of petrol and engine oil,” he said.
He added that the attackers later invaded houses built by the Government of Qatar for internally displaced persons (IDPs), where they killed two residents before soldiers arrived and repelled them.
In Maikujera village, a resident said the attackers invaded the village at about 6pm on Friday and operated for several hours, rustling livestock and looting shops.
He identified the two persons killed in the attack as Lawwali Mikailu, popularly known as Alako, and Asmau Nanuwa, also known as Bodi.
He added that three other residents sustained gunshot injuries and are currently receiving treatment at a hospital.
The resident said the bandits stole petrol, engine oil and cash worth more than N500,000 from his shop.
According to him, the community suffered losses estimated at over N250 million in a single day.
“The attackers rustled more than 150 cattle in addition to stealing cash from shops, bread, soft drinks, recharge cards, mobile phones and several other valuables,” he said.
He alleged that many of the rustled cattle were taken from Akale, Tudun Bagayi, Tudun Dikko and other villages located deep inside the forest.
Another resident of Maikujera also confirmed the attack, saying the gunmen arrived on about 200 motorcycles carrying three persons each.
“They looted large amounts of cash, petrol, recharge cards and carted away many mobile phones from charging and phone repair shops,” he said.
He claimed the attackers had gathered the rustled livestock from communities in Bodinga, Shagari, Yabo and parts of Tureta Local Government Area before passing through Maikujera bridge because floodwaters had made other routes impassable.
Residents appealed to the relevant authorities to urgently deploy additional security personnel to the area, saying many families had already fled their homes while others were preparing to relocate for fear of further attacks.
They said the communities had come under repeated attacks in the past week, alleging that bandits invaded the area on Monday, Thursday and Friday.
One of the residents, who spoke amid tears, said traders were already planning to shut down their businesses after receiving information that the bandits were preparing another attack on Sunday evening.
“We are living in constant fear. Some people have already fled while others are closing their shops to save their lives because we have been told the bandits are currently on their way again,” he said.
The residents commended the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Rabah for responding to distress calls but appealed for reinforcement with more security personnel to complement the efforts of the police in tackling the persistent attacks.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, did not respond to telephone calls or a WhatsApp message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.
