From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau
Hundreds of bike-riding gunmen suspected to be unrepentant bandits have invaded Babban Rafi village under Gummi local government area of Zamfara state last Tuesday killing 14 innocent people.
In a statement by the Zamfara Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Shehu Muhammad, large number of armed bandits suspected to have come from neighbouring Kebbi state stormed the village in the night and started shooting sporadically, a situation that resulted to the death of 14 people.
A survivor who prefers to be anonymous, narrated to Peoples Daily that, the bandits who surrounded the village midnight, have started shooting at any moving object at sight while shouting out ‘We will continue killing worst than before to revenge for the lives of our members killed by Soldiers’.
“I thought I would have been killed during the attack because the bandits have blocked all exits while large number of them embarked upon house to house checks for killing men and raping women.
“They were everywhere, and nothing could be heard but women and helpless children’s screaming for help, just then I realized I was hiding near abandoned well which I jumped down into and did not show again until around 4:30am long after they left”, the survivor added.
According to the Police, combine teams of PMF/CTU/ FSARS attached to “Operation Puff Adder” in conjunction with Men from “Operation Hadarin Daji” of the Nigerian army were mobilized to the area with a view to trailing the perpetrators for arrest and to also avoid further attack on neighbouring villages.
The remains of the people killed during the attack were buried according to the Islamic rites while hundreds of people who survived the attack were reported to have relocated to Gummi local government headquarters for refuge.
