Yan Sakai, an outlawed local vigilante group in Sokoto State, has reportedly killed eleven Fulanis, including an Imam, over alleged ties with bandits.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal was said to have banned the activities of the vigilante group in the state.
It was gathered that the outlawed group raided Mammande village weekly market in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of the state at about 3:30pm on October 7.
Daily Trust reports that seven persons were killed on the spot, while four persons who sustained gunshot injuries were taken to a hospital by the local government council for treatment.
The Imam, who was identified as Malam Aliyu, was said to have been leading prayers in one of the daily prayer Mosques in Salame for many years.
The victims were said to have come from different Fulani settlements around the area to purchase food and other items at the weekly Mamande market.
It was said that the Yan Sakai stormed the market from Goronyo local government area, attacking the victims whom they accused of aiding banditry.
A relative of the Imam, Abdullahi Riskuwa, said his brother was killed unjustifiably because he never had any criminal record.
“He is sound in religion knowledge and had been leading prayers in one of our mosques in Salame town,” he said.
“His only sin was that he belonged to the Fulani tribe.”
According to Riskuwa, Aliyu only went to the market to buy goods when he was killed.
Among those killed at the market, he said, were children, alleging that the Yan Sakai went away with their animals bought by their victims.
He called on the government to investigate the matter with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
Meanwhile, chairman of Gwadabawa local government, Aminu Aya, confirmed the attack.
He said the corpses of the victims were been deposited at the morgue of the Specialist Hospital, Sokoto, and some of their relatives went there to recover the bodies.
He however, said that normalcy had been restored in the area.
ASP Abubakar Sanusi, spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, who confirmed the development, said eleven Fulani herders were killed in the attack by the outlawed volunteer vigilante group.
Sanusi noted that the police have identified the perpetrators of the crime, adding that investigation is ongoing.
He said the command is on the trail of the identified members of the Yan Sakai that allegedly came all the way from Goronyo, in Goronyo local government, to carry out the heinous crime at Manmade village of Gwadabawa local government.
