Report reaching on Saturday, indicates that at least 19 Traders have been killed by armed Fulani bandits who raided a weekly Market, at Unguwan Lalle, in Sabon Birni Local Government Area, Sokoto State.
The attack also left several others injured, who are currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital, in Sabon Birni.
An Eyewitness said: “The two brothers came to the Market from the city. We just buried them at Tudun Wada cemetery, in Sokoto South Local Government Area.
“They came around 3pm, surrounded the Market, and started shooting sporadically.
“I counted about 19 bodies, and many were still being accounted for.”
Confirming the attack, the Hon. Member representing Sabon Birni North, Aminu Almustapha Gobir, stated that the whole Sabon Birni is in a mourning state, over the attack.
He said: “Sabon Birni is under siege, this is what I have been telling you people, and the government is not happy about it.”
Reacting, the State Government blamed the Traders for the attack, because all rural Markets in the Eastern part of the State were banned from opening, as part of measures to curtail the banditry.
The Commissioner for Carriers and Security Matters, Colonel Garba Moyi (Retd.), said in an interview: “The State Government has suspended Markets in some parts of the State experiencing banditry, because these are where bandits are getting their goods.
“But some communities are not complying with this temporary measure, despite the fact that it was for their own good.
“We will find out why they are not enforcing this order in their respective areas.”