Twenty-one people were killed in clashes between villagers in Nigeria’s northern Zamfara state and “bandits” after they refused to pay them, three locals told AFP on Saturday.
Zamfara is one of several states in northwest and central Nigeria where local criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, carry out deadly attacks, kidnappings and robberies.
The gangs are increasingly linked to jihadists in the northeast who have waged a 17-year-old armed insurgency, causing concern among officials.
More than 100 people have been killed by jihadists and criminal gangs in northern Nigeria since Sunday, including a brigadier general.
Dozens of gangsters on about 80 motorcycles attacked Bunkasau village in Bukkuyum district on Friday and engaged in a gun battle with residents, villagers said.
A police spokesman confirmed the incident to AFP but gave no details.
“We are aware that violence occurred but we are still investigating and gathering details,” said Yazid Abubakar, a police spokesman in Zamfara state.
However, three locals said 21 people died in the clashes.
“The bandits killed 21 people during the fighting,” said Lawwali Umar, a community leader in the town of Bukkuyum, where the district is headquartered.
Omar said the villagers were fed up with the taxes levied regularly by the bandits and decided not to pay them anymore.
Omar said the villagers decided to use the money to buy weapons and defend themselves.
Jamilu Aliyu, another Bukkuyum resident, also announced the same death toll.
Babuga Ahmad from the neighboring village of Yash said the bandits engaged in gun battles with villagers, who then “opened fire with all their might” after they ran out of bullets.
“They killed 21 people,” Ahmed said.
Photos sent to AFP from the village showed two rows of dead young men lying on the blood-stained floor of the room.
Banditry violence begins with conflicts between herders and farmers over scarce water and land resources.
It evolved into organized cattle rustling and kidnapping syndicates.
The Nigerian government has deployed troops to Zamfara to suppress bandits since 2015, but violence continues.
State authorities have repeatedly reached peace deals with the bandits and offered amnesty in exchange for handing over their weapons, but the bandits have continued to return to violence.
abu strait
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
