No fewer than 18 people were killed on Sunday morning, July 10, after gunmen loyal to a notorious bandit kingpin, Damina, attacked Kango and Dangulbi villages in Maru local government area, Zamfara state.
Several people who fled after the attack are yet to return, according to one of the residents of the affected communities.
Shehu Ismaila, a resident of Maru town, said 13 people were killed in Dangulbi while five were killed in Kango.
Ismaila said the bandits attacked Kango first before moving to Dangulbi where they killed some of the residents working on their farms.
He said, “Six people were killed outside the community while the remaining seven were killed inside the main village.
“Those killed were early risers who were possibly trying to do some work on their farm before returning home to continue with the Sallah celebrations.”
Ismaila added that the five killed in Kango villages were all shot, according to Premium Times.
Ismaila noted that the bandits’ leader, Damina, demanded N2 million from Dangulbi community as ‘protection levy’ on Friday, July 1.
However, members of the community were unable to raise the money, according to Ismaila.
Meanwhile, the Zamfara state police command is yet to verify the incident as of the time of filing this report.