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Two separate attacks over the weekend killed 24 people in northwestern and central Nigeria, including eight soldiers and a policeman, according to residents and aid workers.
The violence is the latest in a series of raids on communities in both regions, attributed to gangs that carry out kidnapping for ransom and cattle rustling, known locally as bandits, as well as armed groups active in the area.
Traders ambushed in Zamfara
In Zamfara State’s Bukkuyum district, a convoy of traders travelling from Gwashi to Gurusu for a weekly market came under fire on Sunday, three residents told AFP.
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Lawal Muhammad, a local chief in Bukkuyum, said 13 people were killed: eight soldiers, one policeman and four traders, among them a woman.
Eleven others, including three soldiers, were wounded and taken to hospital, he said.
Jamilu Umar, a resident, said the attackers looted merchandise and set three vehicles ablaze before withdrawing.
Another resident, Al-Mustapha Muhammad, described the Gwashi–Gurusu route as “a nightmare for travellers.”
Eleven killed in Niger
In a separate incident, 11 people were killed in Borgu district of Niger State, near the border with Benin, according to two aid workers.
Both said the attack took place overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
“The Lakurawa terrorists killed 11 people, four of them vigilantes providing security to the village,” one of the aid workers said.
Another said residents had crossed into Benin for fear of further attacks.
Displacement continues
Communities across the mineral-rich, agrarian Niger State have continued to abandon their homes amid escalating raids by bandits and armed groups.
The attacks underscore the persistent security crisis in Nigeria’s northwest and central regions, where armed groups operate across vast rural areas despite ongoing military operations.
