Six people have been killed and many others have been abducted by armed men suspected to be terrorists at a village in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The gunmen were said to have attacked Tudun Doki village about 1:30 a.m. on Sallah day.
Ahmed Rufa'i, the Public Relations Officer for the Police Command, confirmed the attack.
He stated that six bodies have been recovered so far, but authorities have yet to determine the number of abducted persons.
Sokoto is one of several states in the northwestern and central regions that have been terrorised by highly armed gangs that carry out mass abductions for ransom, as well as burn and plunder homes.
In recent years, the gangs, which maintain camps in a vast forest spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states, have also carried out large-scale kidnappings of schoolchildren.
Bandits have recently intensified attacks, notably in Katsina and Zamfara states.
Last month, the gangs raided four villages in Sabuwa district of Katsina State, killing 25 people, mostly local vigilantes, in apparent reprisals over military offensives on their hideouts, according to a local official.
Bandits have no ideological beliefs and are driven solely by financial gain. However, experts and authorities have raised alarm over their growing partnership with jihadists waging a 15-year armed rebellion in the northeast.
