Sokoto is in the news again for all the wrong reasons as armed bandits set ablaze scores of passengers in a bus While some eyewitnesses say the terrorists killed 42 persons, the police in the state put the figure at 17 The northwest state has come under attack by armed bandits in recent months sparking outrage among northern stakeholders.
Gidan Bawa – Gunmen suspected to be bandits on Tuesday, December 7 burnt scores of passengers traveling from Sabon Birni local government area to Sokoto town. Leadership newspaper reports that the incident which occurred at about 9 am in the morning happened around Gidan Bawa village where the terrorists blocked the road and set the vehicle ablaze.
The Sokoto state police command spokesperson, ASP Sanusi Abubakar, confirmed the incident, noting however that those killed might be about 17.
He explained that the vehicle carried 24 passengers, out of which 7 were admitted to an undisclosed hospital.
A resident of Sabon Birni who narrated the incident when he arrived Sokoto said: “The bandits shot at the tyres of the vehicle, it somersaulted and burst into flame. Not done, the bandits surrounded the burning vehicle to ensure none of the passengers survived.” A former local government chairman of Sabon Birni, Idris Gobir, who also confirmed the incident said, the bandits are now on the rampage, unleashing havoc on the helpless villagers.
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Punch newspaper, however, reports that the victims numbering about 10, including a Nigerien and locals from Sabon Birni, were on their way to Gadan Gayan in Kaduna en-route southern part of the country in search of livelihood.
