Gunmen suspected of being bandits stormed Yarbulutu village market in Sokoto state’s Sabon Birni local government area yesterday afternoon, killing three police officers and three other traders.
The attack occurred around 2:30 p.m., while President Muhammadu Buhari and Defence Minister Salihi Magashi were in Sokoto for the 2022 COAS annual conference.
According to eyewitnesses, gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on innocent traders at the weekly market, causing people to flee in fear for their lives.
The policemen at a nearby checkpoint rushed to the scene and engaged the gunmen which resulted in the killing of three policemen and setting ablaze of two operational vehicles.
Confirming the attack, the police public relations officer, Sokoto state Police Command, DSP Sanusi Abubakar said, the command has received the report and they are hunting down the attackers to face justice.
A resident of the village who witnessed the incident expressed concern with the way gunmen terrorize the area on a daily bases without much resistance.
He said Sabon Birni and Isa local government areas in the eastern part of Sokoto have for long been held to ransom by bandits and kidnappers operating in Zamfara and part of Sokoto state.
“I am certain these gunmen were from Zamfara state and now relocated to our area as the area shares boarder with the state in the east” said the eyewitness.
Recall that last week, gunmen attacked and killed six people in another village of Goronyo local government area of the state.
A similar episode also took place early last year where suspected gunmen killed more than 40 people.