No fewer than eight farmers have been killed and five others injured after suspected bandits attacked a farming community in Sokoto State.
The incident occurred in Gandi community, Rabah Local Government Area of the state, after the armed men stormed the area and opened fire on residents.
According to residents familiar with the incident, the victims were shot while working on their farms yesterday as the attackers moved through the community, shooting at people and causing panic.
A resident, who spoke anonymously because of security concerns, said the attackers deliberately targeted farmers.
“The bandits came around 3:00 p.m. and started shooting at people. Eight farmers were killed, while at least five others sustained gunshot injuries,” the resident said.
Residents linked the attack to recent security operations in the area, which killed several suspected bandits.
The resident added that the attack was connected to recent operations by security forces, during which several suspected bandits were killed.
“We believe this was a retaliatory attack because some members of the group were killed by security personnel in the last few days,” he said.
The spokesman for the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmed Rufai, confirmed that the command was aware of the incident when contacted on Monday morning but said further details were still being gathered.
The incident came amid intensified security operations in Rabah Local Government Area aimed at dismantling bandit networks and clearing criminal groups from their known operational areas.
Security operations in recent days have inflicted heavy losses on the armed groups, with some fighters said to have abandoned their hideouts and moved away from areas previously used as bases.