Nigeria: Death toll soars to 50 in attacks by unidentified gunmen in northwestern region

On Monday, October 4, the death toll from gunmen attacks in northwest Nigeria's Kaduna state has reached 50 after some more bodies were recovered, reported news agency Xinhua citing a local official. The deadly attacks were carried out last week by some unidentified gunmen. The death toll from the attack on September 26 in Madamai village has reached 38 after four more bodies were recovered, according to Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs in Kaduna.

He further stated that a village in the state's Zango Kataf district was also attacked by gunmen a day after the Madamai village attack, where at least 12 bodies have been discovered so far, reported Xinhua. Aruwan informed that troops of 'Operation Safe Haven' discovered dead bodies while conducting search-and-rescue operations in the region. He also stated that security patrols in the general area were ongoing, and that investigations into the attacks has been initiated, according to Xinhua. 

In recent months, armed groups have launched a series of attacks in northern Nigeria. The region has witnessed several recurring incidents of livestock rustling and armed banditry in the recent past. It should be mentioned here that at least Nigerian security personnel were killed in a separate incident at a remote northeastern Sokoto army station on September 26.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, the deceased include police officers and members of the civil defence services. Meanwhile, in a similar suspected jihadist attack, as many as 59 people were killed in northeastern Nigeria in the month of June. According to the BBC, the gunmen stormed into a rural village in Gubio area and opened fire on the occupants. Apart from these incidents, insurgents had also attacked and killed at least 47 Nigerian soldiers in March.

Northern and central regions marred with violent attacks

It is worth mentioning here that violent attacks by assailants, known locally as, bandits are widespread in Nigeria's northern and central regions, particularly in rural areas with inadequate security. Meanwhile, authorities claim that special military operations aimed at restoring peace in the problematic states have been showing good results, as dozens of assailants have been killed when their hideouts in abandoned forest reserves were attacked in the recent past, reported The Associated Press (AP). However, Nigerian security forces, particularly those working in high-crime areas, are often outnumbered by gangs of gunmen who raid communities in large numbers. Security analysts say the attackers are largely young men from the Fulani ethnic group, who have traditionally worked as nomadic cattle herders and are embroiled in a decades-long struggle with Hausa farming communities over access to water and grazing area," reported AP. 

Image: Twitter/@Samuel Aruwan/@ kiddee La baller