The police in Sokoto State have confirmed the killing of no fewer than 11 persons by a vigilante group popularly referred to as Yan Sakai which had before now been outlawed by the state government due to the group’s alleged excesses.
According to reports, the vigilantes allegedly raided Mammande, a weekly market in the Gwadabawa Local Government Area of the state on Thursday afternoon.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Abubakar Sanusi, disclosed that the police had identified and arrested the perpetrators of the act.
It was further gathered that many others sustained varying degrees of injury from gunshots and machete cuts.
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According to a source, those injured were taken to the Orthopaedic Hospital, Wamakko, and the State Specialist Hospital, Sokoto.
No reason was given for the attack but there had been recent killings and abduction in the eastern part of the state allegedly by bandits.
Also confirming the attack, the chairman of the local government, Aminu Aya, said, “The Yan Sakai came from the neighbouring Goronyo Local Government Area but I cannot ascertain whether they were residents of that area or not.
‘The Fulani are from the neighbouring communities. They came to the market to buy food items among other things. The incident occurred around 3pm on Thursday when Yan Sakai identified and shot 15 Fulani on the spot. Eleven of them died instantly while four sustained fractures as a result of gunshots injuries they sustained.
‘As I speak, we have taken the injured to the Orthopaedic Hospital in Wamakko while the 11 corpses have been deposited at the mortuary’.
Sokoto State has in recent times seen a rise in insecurity even as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to restore normalcy to the region.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK