By Ismail Auwal
Bandits have launched a new attack in Sokoto State, where they torched a vehicle conveying 42 passengers, BBC Hausa service reports.
The victims were migrating from Sabon Birni Local Government to escape the perennial banditry that has plagued their communities.
The incident occurred on Monday around 9 a.m., according to the BBC Hausa.
“The vehicle transported the passengers from Sabon Birni for approximately 6 kilometers to a community called Gidan Bawa, where the incident occurred.”
According to an eyewitness, “I was called to the scene of the incident immediately, and among the travelers there were my uncle, his wife, and four children.”
“Two of the children died on the spot, and we counted about 25 dead bodies when I arrived,” he said.
He also mentioned that only a few people survived and escaped the horrific incident.
According to another source, the vehicle was carrying 45 passengers, but 7 of them had escaped.
“You cannot identify the victims’ complete bodies. Their hands and legs are packed, as such the funerals were carried on the remnants of their bodies,” he explained.
Banditry in the northern region of Nigeria has defied security measures. Recently the county lifted the shutdown of telecommunications services in Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna states after several months. The drastic measure was taken to curb the insecurity bedeviling these states.
