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NIGERIA-UNREST
Gunmen kill 25 in northern Nigeria village raids
KANO, Nigeria, Dec 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – At least 25 people were killed when
armed men raided two villages in a northern Nigerian state wracked by cattle
rustling and kidnapping for ransom, witnesses and the police said on Friday.
Gunmen on motorcycles on Wednesday invaded the villages of Gidan Halilu and
Gidan Kaka in Birnin Magaji district of Zamfara state, they said.
“We lost 25 people in the attacks, which were carried out by cattle thieves
who have been terrorising us for years,” Usman Wadatau, a community leader in
Gidan Halilu, told AFP.
“We lost 16 people in Gidan Halilu and nine in Gidan Kaka,” he said.
Four of those killed in Gidan Halilu were volunteers from nearby Nassarawa
Godel who had mobilised to help fight off the attackers, Gidan Kaka resident
Bube Mada said.
In the first attack, which occurred around 1:00 pm (1200 GMT), the bandits
opened fire on farmers harvesting sweet potatoes outside Gidan Halilu,
killing nine, Mada told AFP.
“The gunmen left after the attack on the farm but returned around 5:00 pm
when we were preparing the bodies of the victims for burial and opened fire
on the mourners, killing three people,” Wadatau said.
“Some people from our neighbours in Nassawa Godel mobilised to help but the
attackers opened fire on them and killed four,” he said.
“The gunmen moved to Gidan Kaka and shot dead nine residents,” said Mada
who supported Watadau’s account.
Zamfara state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu confirmed the attacks but
said only five people were killed.
“On getting to the scene, five corpses were recovered with one other person
injured,” Shehu said.
It is common in Nigeria for security personnel to give lower casualty
figures.
Farming and herding communities in Zamfara have been terrorised for years
by cattle thieves and kidnappers who raid villages, steal cows, abduct
residents for ransom and burn homes.
The frequent attacks have prompted villages to form local militia for
protection.
However the villagers too are accused of carrying out extra-judicial
killings of suspected bandits, leading to tit-for-tat violence.
In April, troops were deployed to Zamfara to fight the gangs and police
banned the civilian militia in an attempt to curb the cycle of reprisals but
the violence has continued.
Last month the police claimed to have killed 104 bandits in Birnin Magaji
district during a clash in which 16 policemen were killed.
Early this month, an influential traditional ruler in the state called for
civilian militia members to be given assault rifles to defend themselves.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1821 hrs