Motorcycle-riding gunmen stormed Sabongarin Damri village in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara State late Saturday, killing 11 residents and abducting at least 70 others—most of them women and children—witnesses said Monday.
- Method of attack: The assailants sprayed the village with gunfire as they rode in, then herded victims onto their bikes before disappearing into nearby bushland.
- Eyewitness accounts:
- Isa Sani told Reuters his daughters were taken: “They came shooting randomly … we’ve heard nothing since.”
- Sufiyanu Ibrahim said he was shot in the leg while his wife was captured.
- Casualties: At least 11 dead, according to villagers; more fatalities feared.
- Scale confirmed: Village chief Shehu Musa put the number abducted at “more than 60,” including children.
Zamfara has become the epicentre of Nigeria’s “bandit” crisis—loose armed gangs that pillage rural communities, halt travel, and disrupt farming. Thousands have been kidnapped in the state over the past five years, with victims often held for months until hefty ransoms are paid.
Police have yet to issue a statement on the latest raid.