Armed men suspected to be terrorists attacked Tudun Doki village in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing six people and abducting many others on Sallah day. The gunmen stormed the village at about 1:30 am.

The Public Relations Officer of the Sokoto Police Command, Ahmed Rufa’i, confirmed the attack.

He said, “Six bodies have been retrieved so far, but the police have yet to ascertain the number of abducted persons.”

Sokoto, like several other states in northwestern and central Nigeria, has been terrorized by heavily armed gangs. These gangs carry out mass abductions for ransom and often burn and loot homes. They maintain camps in a large forest area that stretches across Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states.

Recently, these bandits have increased their attacks, particularly in Katsina and Zamfara states. Last month, they raided four villages in Katsina state’s Sabuwa district, killing 25 people, mostly local vigilantes, in apparent reprisals over military offensives on their hideouts.

Bandits are motivated by financial gain and have no ideological leaning, but analysts and officials are increasingly concerned about their growing alliance with jihadists waging a 15-year armed rebellion in the northeast.