30 Feared Killed As Bandits Attack Sokoto Town

About 30 people have been feared killed after bandits attacked Goronyo market in Goronyo Local Government Area in the Eastern Senatorial District of Sokoto State.

Sources in the village said the assailants attacked the market in large numbers on Sunday night, shooting sporadically at the residents.

Governor Aminu Tambuwal who reacted to the incident on Monday, said 30 people were feared dead in Goronyo township, the headquarters of Goronyo local government area.

He disclosed this when the chief of army staff, Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya paid him a courtesy visit.

“Between last night, yesterday evening till this morning, we were greeted with a very dastardly attack in Goronyo local government, particularly Goronyo Township, where scores and tens have lost their lives and still counting. We’re not sure of the figure. But it is 30 something,” he said.

Tambuwal noted that the army chief has “come at a very trying moment for the army and the Nigerian nation. We’re faced and bedevilled by many security challenges in our own area here, particularly banditry, kidnapping and other associated crimes.”

He called for synergy between the army and other security operatives in the state, while requesting for the presence of more forces in the state and the deployment of more resources.

Tambuwal also pledged that his administration will continue to support the army and other security operatives.

The latest attack is the third time in two weeks that bandits have attacked a village market in Sokoto.

Earlier this month, 20 persons were killed at Ungwan Lalle market in Sabon Birni local government area of the state.

For many weeks now, troops have been conducting air and ground operations on bandit camps in neighbouring Zamfara State, where authorities have shut down telecom services to disrupt communication between the gangs.

Bandits fleeing the military operation in Zamfara have set up camps in the Sabon Birni district from where they raid villages.

The influx of bandits from neighbouring Zamfara state prompted authorities in Sokoto to suspend weekly markets and shutdown telecom towers in areas on the border with Zamfara, including Sabon Birni.