Gunmen suspected to be bandits on Wednesday afternoon launched what was described as a brutal attack on some settlements in Zamfara State, killing at least 30 residents and injuring many others.
The bandits launched the attack on settlements in Sauna Ward and Ruwan Gora community in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of the state unchallenged, killing and injuring the persons in the process.
It was gathered that the marauders arrived the settlements on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically at any object on sight and by the time they finished their onslaught, at least 30 residents had been killed while others suffered varying degrees of injuries.
A source who was in the know of the attack told Impact Nigeria News Online on Thursday morning that it was after the bandits had carried out the brutal attack and left the settlements with an undisclosed number of people as captives that security operatives arrived to assess the situation.
The source said more residents would have been killed if not because some of them who sighted the marauders when they were coming fled into the bush for safety.
The source added that the settlements are already preparing for the burial of those who lost their lives which is expected to be held later on Thursday.
In another development, after enduring a long period in bandit captivity, a man from Katsina State, Abdul Jalal, widely known as Dan Marayan Dauda, has finally regained his freedom after two months in captivity.
He was let off the hook in the evening of Wednesday, July 22 and his return marks the end of a painful chapter for his family and loved ones, who never gave up hope.
Also in Sokoto State on Tuesday night, bandits stormed Isa town in Isa Local Government Area and abducted seven residents in the Herama area comprising six women and one man.
The incidents are another reminder of the persistent insecurity facing communities in northwestern Nigeria, with families living in fear and uncertainty.
