At least 10 residents have been abducted and an Islamic teacher killed after bandits attacked Gidan Kare village in Tureta Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
A resident of the village told Daily Trust that the attackers infiltrated the community around 8am on Thursday after residents had returned from Tureta town, where many of them usually spend the night to avoid attacks.
The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attackers opened fire on the villagers, killing one person, injuring another and abducting 10 others.
“Normally, people of our village sleep in Tureta town to avoid attacks and raids by bandits. Residents return to their various homes in the morning.
“But today, when the villagers returned, they started shooting sporadically. They shot one person dead, injured another and abducted 10 residents,” he said.
Those reportedly abducted include Mallam Dan Manga, Shehu, twins Hassana and Hussaina, Badaru, two children of Mallam Ayuba, Saratu and two others.
The injured victim was identified as Dan Abu.
The resident said he attended the burial in Tureta town on Thursday evening of an Islamic teacher, Mallam Abubakar Danjimme, who was killed in the attack.
He, however, said there were fears that more people could be missing, with their whereabouts yet to be established.
A resident of Tureta town, who accommodates people from Gidan Kare and other displaced communities, explained that residents of Gidan Kare usually travel to Tureta to sleep and return to their village every morning.
He said the attackers appeared to have observed the movement of the villagers before carrying out the attack.
“People from Gidan Kare come to our houses to sleep and return to their village in the morning. Today, they left around 7am, but later we heard that one of those who slept in our house yesterday and left this morning had been abducted.
“They knew that the villagers sleep in Tureta and return in the morning. So they planned the attack and hid in a primary school in the village.
“They waited until they saw that many people had entered the village before coming out. They started shooting, killed one person, beat others and abducted some,” he said.
He added that one of the abducted women was related to his paternal uncle.
Another resident of Daddade, a community close to Gidan Kare, said the late Mallam Abubakar was his Islamic teacher.
He added that the attackers also entered Daddade and Janwake communities but did not find residents, as many had fled their homes because of insecurity.
The residents called on the government and security agencies to intensify efforts to address attacks in the area, including taking measures to prevent armed groups from operating from forested areas.
When contacted for comment, the Sokoto State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Ahmad Rufai, said he would contact the Divisional Police Officer in Tureta for details.
However, he had not responded as of the time of filing this report.
