Gunmen in Zamfara State have attacked the Nasarawar Mai-fara community in Tsafe Local Government Area, killing over 20 natives.
The gunmen had earlier imposed a N40 million levy on the affected community.
According to a source, the gunmen had before the attack, came to the community and asked the locals to mobilize and pay N40 million if they wanted peace.
The locals complied and handed over the money to the gunmen.
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However, “like a bolt from the blue, they came and invaded our community. They killed over 21 people,” he said.
The victims of the attack were buried on Friday night.
He said ” the saddest thing was that after killing our people, they only allowed us two days after, to pick the copses and prepare them for burial.”
A local who narrowly escaped been killed, said on entering the community, the gunmen went straight to the Masjid and opened fire on the Muslims praying.
He said the local vigilantes had confronted the gunmen, immediately after the attack on worshippers.
” When the conflict intensified, we had to call the security agents but it took them two hours before they came. It was gun shots for these two hours,” he said.
He said 11were killed in the Mosque attack, 4 were injured while many women were abducted.
In a related development, inhabitants of Tofar Magami in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State had to flee, leaving the gunmen who are now occupying the community.
A former resident of the community now in exile,told the BBC Hausa service that there was no single true native of the community now as they have all fled.
” The gunmen have turned the place into their camp,” he said.
“The gunmen are now living in the houses of those who fled. We have humiliated. It got to a stage that a housewife was raped before the eyes of her husband,” he said.
Spokesman of the Zamfara Police Command; SP Muhammad Shehu told the BBC Hausa service that they were able to visit the affected community and commiserated with the victims.
He said a combined team of security agents was mobilized to visit the community and efforts were in place to adopt the right strategy of preventing attacks by gunmen in the community.
