Sadeeq Kamsela, with agency report
Suspected bandits attacked a rural village in northwestern Nigeria over the weekend, setting fire to a mosque, a primary healthcare clinic, and at least 10 homes in what residents described as a reprisal raid.
The assault reportedly occurred late Saturday in Biyabiki, a village in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, a region long plagued by violent criminal groups that have defied military crackdowns and displaced thousands of residents.
Local sources said the attack was likely carried out by armed loyalists of Adamu Aliero, a notorious bandit leader, in retaliation for the recent deaths of his younger brother and son during a failed ambush against security forces near the Keta area about three weeks ago.
Witnesses reported that the gunmen stormed the village around 8:00 p.m., methodically setting buildings ablaze before fleeing. No injuries or kidnappings were reported.
“They only burned buildings — our Juma’at mosque, the health clinic, and about 10 houses,” said one resident, who requested anonymity out of fear for his safety. “The whole thing lasted nearly an hour.”
The same group is believed to have attacked Tsageru, a neighboring village, earlier that day, burning several homes in what residents suspect was a coordinated campaign of retaliation.
Repeated efforts to reach a spokesman for the Zamfara State Police Command, DSP Yazid Abubakar, were unsuccessful.
Zamfara State has been at the epicenter of Nigeria’s worsening rural insecurity crisis. Armed groups, commonly referred to as bandits, have carried out mass abductions, looted villages, and targeted government facilities in a conflict that has strained security forces and left large parts of the northwest in fear.
Despite ongoing military operations aimed at dismantling the groups, attacks on civilian targets have persisted, highlighting the complex challenges Nigerian authorities face in restoring order to the region.
