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A dozen members of a family have died after armed gangs set fire to their home during an overnight raid on a village in Zamfara state, a local official and two residents told AFP on Sunday.
Zamfara is among several states in northwest and central Nigeria plagued by kidnapping-for-ransom and cattle-rustling non-ideological gangs, known locally as bandits, who raid villages and kill and abduct residents.
The bandits on motorcycles attacked a village on the outskirts of the town of Maradun late on Saturday, shooting indiscriminately.
While most villagers fled, a man, identified as Malam Sani, and his family of 11 locked themselves in a room inside their home to escape the gunmen, Sanusi Ahmad, the political administrator of Maradun district, told AFP.
“When the bandits failed to break down the door to take the family, they set fire to the room from outside,” Ahmad said.
“This led to the death of all 12 people trapped inside, who died from heat and suffocation,” said Ahmad, who attended the funeral of the victims on Sunday.
Seven other residents were abducted, he added.
The abducted residents included six women and a 10-year-old boy, said Bello Muhammad, a village resident, who gave the same account and death toll.
Insecurity and a battered economy, marked by high inflation and a cost of living crisis, are major issues in political campaigns as Nigeria prepares for the presidential election in January.
