Gunmen have reportedly killed 20 people after attacking a convoy of traders travelling under military escort in Zamfara State.
According to Reuters, the traders were travelling from Gwashi to Nasarawa Market in Bukkuyum Local Government Area on Saturday when the attack occurred at about 2pm.
The report said the casualties included four soldiers, three police officers, an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and 12 civilians.
A military source also told Reuters that 19 people sustained injuries in the attack.
The incident adds to a series of violent attacks recorded in Zamfara in recent months.
About a month ago, gunmen abducted six Islamic clerics along the Dakko-Damri feeder road in Bakura Local Government Area.
Yazid Abubakar, the state police spokesperson, said the clerics were travelling to Talata Mafara when armed bandits intercepted their vehicle.
Abubakar said the attackers, who were reportedly carrying sophisticated weapons, ambushed the vehicle and abducted the six occupants, all of whom were identified as imams.
In June, seven students of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, were abducted by suspected bandits.
Abubakar had told TheCable that the students were taken from their residence during an attack in the Low-Cost area of Kaura Namoda town.
The police spokesperson said preliminary findings indicated that one of the students had stepped outside at night and inadvertently left the door open.
He added that operatives of the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) had joined troops of Operation Fansan Yamma in efforts to track down the abductors and secure the students’ release.