Residents say gunmen on motorcycles arrived in the village of Maidabino in Katsina state and began shooting sporadically.
At least seven people were killed and 100 kidnapped on Saturday night when gunmen attacked a rural community in Nigeria's northwestern Katsina state, residents and police said on Sunday, in the latest attack on residents in the north. from the country.
State police spokesman Abubakar Aliyu Sadiq confirmed the attack and the seven deaths, but did not say whether anyone was missing. He said police were investigating.
“The remaining men who did not flee are living in fear… and waiting to receive news about their kidnapped loved ones,” said Muhammad Sani, whose sister was kidnapped.
Residents said gunmen on motorcycles arrived at Maidabino village in Danmusa local government area of Katsina and started shooting sporadically, forcing residents to flee.
Hassan Aliyu told Reuters news agency by phone that the attack took residents by surprise and dozens of women and children were confirmed missing.
“They killed seven people, and burned two children,” Aliyu said. “They spent more than six hours destroying our properties.”
Auwalu Ismail, another resident, said the gunmen first blocked all roads leading to Maidabino before the attack.
“They burned our shops, our vehicles and took our livestock. They also kidnapped my wife and more than 100 women and children,” she said.
In recent years, these kidnappings have been concentrated in the central and northwestern regions of Nigeria, where dozens of armed groups often attack villagers and travelers for large ransoms.
In March, gunmen attacked a school in the northwestern state of Kaduna and kidnapped dozens of students as they were about to start the school day, according to residents and local authorities.
Last year, gunmen kidnapped more than 80 students in a raid on a school in the northwestern state of Kebbi.
