No fewer than 21 persons are feared dead, 37 others have been abducted, and thousands of residents have fled their homes after heavily armed bandits attacked Tsamaye community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
According to media reports, the attack began around 9:00 p.m. on Monday and continued until after 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday. The assailants reportedly burnt two houses, stole livestock, and forced residents to abandon the community.
Residents said the assault triggered another tragedy when many villagers attempted to escape across a river after receiving information that the bandits were approaching.
Local sources said overloaded boats capsized during the escape, throwing about 25 people, mostly women and children, into the river. Seven persons were rescued alive, while 18 others are feared drowned as families continued searching for missing relatives.
One resident, who was preparing to flee the village, said the attackers themselves confirmed that they had abducted 37 people after relatives called the victims’ phones.
“When we called our relatives, the bandits answered the phones and told us they were the ones who abducted them. They said they had taken 37 people,” he said.
He explained that while some victims were seized inside the village, many others were captured in nearby farms where they had gone to sleep because of repeated attacks.
“Because of the frequent attacks, many people no longer sleep in the village. They spend the night in farms and bushes to avoid being attacked. This time, the bandits searched through the farms, woke people up and took them away.
“Most of those abducted were women and children. I personally saw three infants placed on the ground by the bandits while they led their mothers away.”
The resident lamented that security personnel had been informed about the invasion, but no reinforcement arrived before the attackers completed their operation.
“We excused them during the previous attack because the bandits had surrounded them and were firing at them. But this time, they were informed early enough, yet nobody came to rescue us.”
Another resident who fled to Sokoto metropolis in the early hours of Tuesday said the village had been completely scattered and residents escaped in different directions.
“We fled to Sokoto because we have never experienced terror like what happened on Wednesday night. About 40 of us escaped here, and everyone is now staying with relatives.”
A local vigilante member, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the bandits entered the community around 8:00 p.m. and moved from house to house, forcing residents to identify wealthy households and locations where livestock were kept.
“Some people managed to escape and alerted us. We informed the security operatives stationed in our village and asked them to support us so that we could confront the bandits, but they told us they did not have adequate equipment. We also contacted our traditional leader, but there was little he could do apart from sympathising with us.
“When the gunfire intensified, we had no option but to hide.”
According to him, security personnel urgently require Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to respond effectively to attacks across the difficult terrain.
He added that fewer than 20 residents remained in the village after the attack, while more than 100 vehicles had transported displaced villagers out of the area since the previous evening.
“From yesterday until today, nobody has eaten because of the trauma and panic caused by the attack,” he said.
Residents also said the bandits burnt two houses belonging to Lawwali Ta’u Mai Chaji and Hassan Hasken Halara, a member of the vigilante group.
“Our colleague was with us defending the village when his house was burnt. We only found ashes afterwards. We cannot even determine how many members of his family or livestock died in the fire because everything was reduced to ashes.”
Those confirmed killed during the attack, according to residents, include Kabiru Mallam Tanimu, Ayuba Mallam Hashim, and Yakubu Mu’azu, while many others remain missing.
The attack also forced residents of surrounding settlements to flee. Affected communities include Borai, Tsululu, Garin Tudu, Bukka Hamsin, Turkawa, Rumbukawa, Dutsin Na Umma, Zangon Mu’azu, Arawa, Kuru, Zangon Mallam, Mai Hurde, Zugun, Gidan Na Birni, Mashaya, Marina, and several others.
Displaced residents appealed to the Federal Government and the Sokoto State Government to urgently deploy additional security personnel and provide APCs to help security operatives reclaim the area and enable affected families to return safely.
The Chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area, Ayuba Hashimu, confirmed that the incidents occurred but said he could not independently verify the casualty figures.
“The incidents indeed happened, but I was not there myself. Therefore, I have to verify the figures before I can confirm them,” he said.
The spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, also confirmed the attack and said additional security personnel had been deployed to restore peace and prevent further violence in the affected communities.
According to media reports, bandits had attacked Tsamaye community in the same local government area on Wednesday, killing eight residents, including three worshippers inside a mosque, highlighting the worsening insecurity in Sabon Birni.
Sabon Birni remains one of the areas most severely affected by banditry in Sokoto State and the wider North-West, where armed groups continue to carry out deadly attacks, mass abductions, and widespread displacement despite ongoing security operations.
