Maiduguri, Nigeria
Reuters
Gunmen in Nigeria killed eight people on Sunday and abducted at least 60 others in two communities of north-west Zamfara state, residents and a local traditional leader said, two days after armed men kidnapped dozens from a university in the state.
Elsewhere, in the north-east of the country suspected Islamist insurgents ambushed a convoy of vehicles under military escort, killing two soldiers and four civilians, said a police source and a motorist who witnessed the attack.
The attackers set fire to five vehicles and drove off with one truck, the witness said.
President Bola Tinubu is yet to spell out how he will tackle widespread insecurity. His economic reforms, including the removal of a costly fuel subsidy and freeing the naira currency, have increased the cost of leaving, angering citizens.
Residents said gunmen early on Sunday tried to attack a forward army base in a rural Magami community of Zamfara, but were repelled. Zamfara is one of the states worst affected by kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs known locally as bandits.
The gunmen in three groups attacked the army base and the communities of Magami and Kabasa, said a traditional leader who declined to be named for security reasons.
He said 60 people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped.
“The bandits rode many motorcycles with guns and other weapons (and) were shooting sporadically,” Shuaibu Haruna, a resident of Magami, told Reuters by telephone.
Four people were killed during the attack, said Haruna, who attended their burial.
Isa Mohd from Kabasa community said four people were also killed and dozens of others kidnapped.
Police and army did not respond to requests for comment.
Attacks in the north-west are part of widespread insecurity in Nigeria. Islamist fighters still carry out deadly attacks in the north-east, gangs and separatists attack security forces and government buildings in the south-east, and clashes involving farmers and herders continue to claim lives.
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On Friday, gunmen broke down doors, shattered windows and abducted 24 female students from hostels of a university in Zamfara in the early hours of Friday, witnesses said.
As they marched their victims away, the armed men also took a security guard and 10 construction workers who were sleeping in a makeshift shelter on the premises of Federal University Gusau, local officials said.
“The armed bandits arrived on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically, that’s when I woke up. They went to the girls’ hostels near the campus, breaking windows and doors and shouting for the students to come out,” said student Hussaini Abubakar, who lives in a nearby hostel.
The students were marched through bush country at the back of the university campus, which is not fenced, said Abubakar.
Another student, who identified himself as Sodiq Moshood, said he was woken by the sound of gunfire.
“I was very scared and the gunshots lasted several minutes. It was around 3am and there was commotion outside,” Sodiq said.
The university is 20 kilometres outside Zamfara state capital.
Six students had been rescued by security forces, the university spokesperson said.
– Additional reporting by HAMZA IBRAHIM in Kano.
