A deadly gun battle between local vigilantes and suspected Lakurawa bandits in Tangaza local government area of Sokoto State has claimed the lives of 11 vigilantes, with several others still missing.
The clash, which began on Friday, initially resulted in two fatalities. However, the death toll rose after nine additional bodies were recovered.
Several more corpses were believed to be in the dense Lakurawa forest enclave, and efforts were underway to retrieve them with the assistance of soldiers and other security agencies from Binji and Racca.
An eyewitness narrated, “the confrontation began after local vigilantes foiled an attack on Magonho community, prompting a fierce exchange of gunfire.
“The assailants, estimated to be around 40 in number, were heavily armed and arrived on 20 motorcycles. They rustled livestock from the village before retreating.
“Troops from the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Masallaci responded swiftly and pursued the bandits, successfully recovering some of the stolen animals.
“However, the bandits later returned to Magonho village, opening fire and setting ablaze an MTN communication tower before fleeing once again.”
When contacted, Sokoto State Police Command’s spokesman, Ahmed Rufai, confirmed the attack and the destruction of the MTN mast, but could not confirm the number of the vigilantes killed as at the time of filing this report.
He said, “Yes, there was a report of attack in the area, including the MTN mast in the community. On the number of casualties, I would have to get back to you, on the figure as I cannot confirm the figure for now.”
Meanwhile, search and rescue operations were ongoing, as authorities were working to account for missing vigilantes and recover additional bodies of the victims.
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