8 women abducted in fresh attack on Sokoto community

Armed bandits have again invaded Rarah village in Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State and abducted eight women, including pregnant women and a nursing mother, during their raid. Sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our reporter that the attackers stormed the village at about 1:00am on Wednesday and operated for an […]

Armed bandits have again invaded Rarah village in Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State and abducted eight women, including pregnant women and a nursing mother, during their raid.

Sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our reporter that the attackers stormed the village at about 1:00am on Wednesday and operated for an hour before taking the victims to an unknown destination.

However, one of the women was later released immediately after they left the village.

One of the relatives of the victims said the community has been under persistent attacks in recent weeks.

He alleged that about five weeks ago, bandits invaded the same village, killed three people and abducted 18 others, including a two-month-old baby.

According to him, “12 of those abducted were women, some of them are pregnant, alongside five men and an infant”.

The source further claimed that the attackers have contacted the relatives, demanding N20 million as ransom for the release of the victims, adding that many of the affected families are poor and struggling to meet daily needs.

“Up till now, those abducted over five weeks ago are still in captivity. The bandits insisted on N20 million before they could regain freedom. Some of the parents of the victims cannot even afford a decent meal,” he said.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, confirmed the incident, saying that “we are aware of the attack, but we didn’t know the exact number of the abducted residents yet”.