Bandits Kill Father and 8-Year-Old Daughter, Abduct 17 People in Deadly Sokoto Night Raid

A father and his 8-year-old daughter were killed in a brutal attack by bandits on Garin Faji hamlet in Sokoto State's Sabon Birni Local Government Area.

During the assault, roughly fifty cows were rustled and seventeen more were kidnapped.

According to local sources who spoke to Daily Trust, the assailants rushed the village in huge numbers on foot, keeping their motorcycles far enough so that their engine noise would not be detected.

Residents were forced to leave as the attackers started firing intermittently upon arrival, according to a resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for security concerns.

"I heard gunshots that indicated their arrival on Wednesday at around 12:00 a.m. while I was in my shop. He remarked, "I swiftly closed and went into hiding."

Later, he said, the bandits broke into a residence and murdered Haruna Dan Kwambo and his eight-year-old daughter.

Along with his brother's wife, the spouses of his brother's children, and other children, they also kidnapped his two wives.

Residents claim that 17 persons were kidnapped, three of whom were men, while the remaining victims were women and children.

During the invasion, the attackers also stole roughly fifty cows.

The episode was not the first, according to the locals, who recalled earlier attacks that resulted in fatalities and kidnappings.

They also described another instance in which a boat carrying peasants fleeing bandit attacks crashed, killing roughly ten people.

They ran for around an hour. The insider added that there is no security presence in the community and that they had already fled when security personnel arrived.

"We are pleading with the authorities to free our kidnapped family members. "The circumstances are getting intolerable," he continued.

As of the time this report was filed, DSP Ahmad Rufai, the state's Police Public Relations Officer, had not returned calls or texts, thus attempts to discuss the matter with him were unsuccessful.