Sokoto: Bandits in military uniform gun down four in fresh attack

Bandits in military uniform have killed at least four and injured several others in an attack on Unguwan Lalle community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The incident, which started around 8pm on Sunday, was said to have lasted until 2am on Monday.

The bandits, during the attack, reportedly looted homes and shops and rustled an unspecified number of livestock.

According to Daily Trust, residents said the attackers operated for nearly six hours despite the presence of security personnel in the area earlier in the day.

Residents also disclosed that the assailants equally looted homes and shops and rustled an unspecified number of livestock during the late-night raid, residents said.

They stated that the heavily armed assailants, estimated to be about 200, stormed the community from different directions, initially deceiving residents into believing they were security personnel.

“We thought they were soldiers because they were wearing military uniforms. They surrounded the village, opened fire on anyone trying to escape, ransacked our homes, carted away our livestock and looted goods from our shops,” a resident said.

According to one of the residents, the military had arrived in two armoured vehicles after bandits allegedly killed a farmer earlier in the day.

“The soldiers responded quickly and stayed in the village until about 8 p.m. before returning to their base. Just a few minutes after they left, the bandits came back wearing military uniforms,” he said.

The spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufa’i, when contacted, confirmed the killing of a farmer in the area but said he had not been briefed on the reported attack on the community.

“I have received a report confirming the killing of one person in the area on Sunday. However, I have not yet been briefed about the other reported attack on the community,” he said.