Gusau – Suspected jihadists in northwest Nigeria killed around 30 people during Friday Islamic prayers last week, local sources have told AFP, the latest attack to hit restive Sokoto state.
Africa’s most populous country is battling multiple security crises across its north, including from jihadists as well as non-ideological gangs locally known as bandits.
Shamsuddeen Mai Akwai, secretary of the Kebbe local government council, said Monday the attackers were suspected jihadists from a group known as Lakurawa, which has been linked by some researchers to Islamic State Sahel Province, primarily active in Mali and neighbouring Niger.
Mai Akwai said the attackers were carrying “sophisticated weapons” and attacked the village of Ungushi “while worshippers were busy observing (Friday) prayers”.
@dw.africa At least 18 people have been killed and hundreds displaced after communal violence erupted in Nigeria’s Niger State, forcing residents to flee burned-out communities. #dwafricasocialmedia #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #nigeria #dwafricaaivoices ♬ Cosmos – Lofi-nimation
A resident of the nearby town of Kebbe, who requested anonymity for his safety, said the attacks followed the killing of four soldiers in Kebbe, also on Friday.
He said about 30 people had been killed in Ungushi. A police spokesman put the toll at 28.
Across Nigeria’s rural hinterlands, state presence — including security forces — is sparse, and news of massacres can take days to slowly trickle out from isolated communities.
While northeast Nigeria remains the epicentre of the country’s long-running jihadist insurgency, some militants have spread into the northwest and centre of the country.
Jihadists from the neighbouring Sahel have also made inroads into the northwest in recent years.
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Source: AFP
