Fresh attack claims 15 lives

Barely one week after the killing of 26 people in a community in Nigeria’s north west state of Zamfara, gunmen have again hit another village in the state, killing 15 people.

The Public Relations officer of the Zamfara State Police Command, DSP. Muhammad Shehu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Gusau that the bandits killed the people in a village called Zakuna, in the Anka Local Government Area.

The beleaguered state has seen repeated attacks in recent times that have left scores dead.

Shehu said that the attackers invaded Zakuna in the early hour of June 1 and stole cows belonging to villagers.

According to him, a vigilance group known as Yansakai challenged the rustlers, forcing them to flee only for the bandits to reinforce and attack the village, killing 15 people.

“On receiving the reports of the attack, the police mobilised to the village and discovered 15 bodies, majority of whom were Yansakai.

“The police have, however, deployed heavy security to the area to maintain peace and stability.

“Bush combing and rigorous patrol is being carried out throughout the area by the police to avoid further loss of lives.”

Shehu said that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Kenneth Ebrimson, had ordered discreet investigation on the latest incident to catch the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

He pleaded with communities in the state not to relent in providing information to security operatives to end the deadly attacks in the state.

On May 25, some communities in Gidangoga District in the Maradun Local Government Area of the state were similarly attacked by bandits, resulting to the death of 26 people, with three others injured.