Suspected bandits have killed an Imam and three other residents and abducted 12 persons during a midnight attack on Illela Dawagware village in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Grassroots Parrot reports that residents said the attackers, numbering about 30, stormed the community at about 12:20 a.m. on Sunday on nine motorcycles and operated for nearly 30 minutes while shooting sporadically.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said villagers attempted to resist the attack but were overpowered by the heavily armed assailants.
According to him, the bandits first attacked the residence of the village’s chief imam before moving from house to house in search of more victims.
“They killed our imam, his neighbour and two others before abducting 12 people, including eight women and four men,” the source said.
The victims killed were identified as Mallam Liman Lawwali Na Ande, Lawwali Na Lami and Abdullahi Haruna, while those abducted include Amiru, Hauwa, Awwalu and nine others.
The resident added that the attackers also kidnapped the wife and two brothers of one of the deceased, identified simply as Awwalu.
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Another resident, Alhaji Samaila, sustained a gunshot injury that fractured his hand and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Sokoto.
Community members accused security personnel of failing to respond to distress calls during the attack.
“We called security operatives in Goronyo and even offered to provide money for fuel, but nobody came to our rescue,” the resident alleged.
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Residents said the latest incident was the 24th attack on the village in recent years. They recalled that bandits had previously killed seven members of the same family inside a mosque two years ago.
The latest attack has forced many residents to flee once again, with survivors saying they would now spend their nights at the Internally Displaced Persons camp in Goronyo for fear of another invasion.
The community appealed to the federal and Sokoto State governments, as well as security agencies, to urgently end the recurring attacks.
The incident comes days after bandits reportedly killed another chief imam and abducted nine persons in nearby Kuda-Kuda village, also in Goronyo Local Government Area.