At least 21 people were killed in a terror attack in the latest act of violence in northwestern Nigeria, police said Friday.
The attack on Jan. 7 was carried out on a group of a community security group in Baure village in Safana Local Government Area of northern Katsina State, said local police spokesman Abubakar Aliyu.
Aliyu said the attack left at least 21 members of the group dead.
Earlier, reports had said 30 people were among the dead.
The group comprised a joint team of Katsina State Community Watch Corps (KSCWC) and local vigilante members.
They were returning from a condolence visit to the family of one of their colleagues who was killed last week.
“The incident occurred at about 4:30 pm (0330GMT), prompting a swift response from police operatives attached to Safana divisional headquarters, who rushed to the scene and restored normalcy,” said the police spokesman.
According to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, the African nation recorded 614,937 deaths in attacks between May 2023 and April 2024.
The report showed banditry-ravaged northwest saw the highest figure with 206,030 killings.
Separately, police said Friday that two cops were killed as Boko Haram terrorists attacked a police base at Ngazai in the restive northeastern state of Borno.
Boko Haram fired several shots and threw explosives into the police station during the attack, leading to the death of two cops, the police confirmed in a statement.