Bandits kill 15 people in 2 separate attacks in Nigeria's Sokoto state

By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA) - Armed bandits killed 15 people Monday in two separate attacks in northwestern Nigeria’s Sokoto state.

The attacks took place in the Goronyo and Illela local government areas.

Sokoto Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal confirmed the attacks, saying 12 people were killed in Illela and three in Goronyo.

Tambuwal said they occurred between Sunday night and Monday morning and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

The governor was speaking at the state House of Assembly while he presented the 2022 Sokoto appropriation bill.

The attacks came barely a month after bandits invaded Goronyo township, where 43 people were confirmed killed.

Governor Tambuwal, who confirmed the toll after an initial figure of 30, said the gunmen opened fire on a market in Goronyo.

Condemning the attack, which occurred on Oct. 17, President Muhammadu Buhari sent a tough warning to the bandits, saying the clock of their ultimate destruction was ticking and they would no longer have a place to hide.

Illela and Goronyo are among the local government areas where the state government has shut down telecommunications networks and banned weekly markets to curb the activities of bandits.

The measures have not deterred attacks, however, as reprisal attacks involving bandits and vigilante groups have intensified in Sokoto.

Bandits have also been establishing administrations in many rural communities in the state, imposing taxes on villagers.