The perpetrators had intercepted a vehicle and slaughtered the driver and then opened fire on passengers, killing all on board, before moving to the community market and shooting indiscriminately into the helpless crowd.

In a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Friday, February 16, President Buhari, strongly condemned the massacre and commiserated with the families of the victims of the "heinous and inhuman attacks".

According to the statement, the president has directed security agencies to immediately mobilise and deploy their members to the vulnerable areas of the state, and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to face the full wrath of the law.

Minister of Defence ordered to Zamfara

The president has also directed the Minister of Defence, Brigadier-General Mansur Dan Ali (Rtd) to proceed immediately to the state to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and report back.

He assured the Zamfara State government, victims of the mayhem and residents in the state, that the Federal Government will continue do all it takes to support security agencies to secure lives and property, not only in the affected state but all parts of the country.

The president also reiterated his administration's determination to put an end to the spate of senseless spilling of innocent blood in parts of the country, and called for restraint to allow the nation's security agencies to stem the undesirable trend.

Herders/hunters clash caused attack

In a statement issued by the Zamfara Police Command, an encounter between local hunters and a herder caught with some suspected stolen cattle had led to the attacks.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Muhammad Shehu, said hunters confronted the herder who escaped and returned with bandits.

He said, "The herder abandoned the animals and escaped into the bush, but unknown to the hunters, the cattle rustler went to Isah Local Government Area of Sokoto State and mobilised bandits to attack the hunters.

"On Feb. 14, the bandits ambushed the hunters in the bush and there was a clash that led to fatality on both sides.

"Police/Military and other sister agencies reacted by combing the bush and it's environs to salvage the situation and discovered 18 dead bodies."

He noted that mobile  policemen, Special Forces and other security personnel from other sister security agencies had already been deployed to the area to restore peace and stability.