Bandits kill two policemen, five farmers in Sokoto, Katsina

In what appears to be reprisal attack after three suspected bandits were killed, gunmen have killed two policemen and five farmers in two separate attacks in Sokoto and Katsina respectively. Armed gangs, called bandits by locals, regularly raid villages in the North, killing and kidnapping people as well as looting and burning homes. A gang of around 100 gunmen dressed in army camouflage stormed a police station in the town of Gidan Madi in Sokoto state on Thursday, killing two officers and injuring another, police spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said. Residents in Gidan Madi told AFP that the attackers carted away weapons from the police station before withdrawing into the bush. Gunmen are believed to hide in the nearby Rugu forest that stretches across Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states. Their attacks are generally motivated by money, but security experts have warned that the region’s jihadist groups have attempted to infiltrate their ranks. Later on Thursday, a group of suspected cattle thieves launched an attack on the farming village of Yanteba in Katsina state, killing five farmers, state police spokesman Gambo Isah said. (AFP)