By EMPEROR SIMON

At least 14 people have been killed by gunmen at Ukuru village in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abiodun Wasiu, confirmed the attack and casualty figure in a statement on Thursday.

Wasiu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), revealed that the gunmen attacked the village at about 3:30pm on Wednesday.

According to him five other persons sustained gunshot injuries and were taken to the Mariga General Hospital for medical treatment.

The police command spokesman noted that policemen and local vigilante were already on the trail of the assailants who he claimed were cattle rustlers.

A resident of the community, Musa Audu, who witnessed the attack, narrated what transpired to Channels Television in a phone conversation.

He explained that the gunmen invaded the community at a time when members of the vigilante were out of the community to patrol some of the forests in the area.

Audu, whose cousin was among those killed by the gunmen, stated that the attack took place during the popular Mariga market which had many traders from various locations.

He said bodies of 15 persons have been found, adding that many people who sustained injuries ran into a nearby bush and they were still being searched for.

The attack comes two weeks after the police recovered the bodies of seven ladies from a salon in Rijau Local Government Area of the state.

Preliminary investigation, according to the police authorities, revealed that the women passed the night in the salon for hairdressing with an electricity generator on.

The owner of the salon was said to have brought in the generator inside the salon, and in the process, the victims suffocated to death after inhaling its fume.

While their bodies were said to have been deposited at the General Hospital in Tunga Magajia for autopsy, the police said an investigation to unravel the cause of the incident was ongoing. (Channels TV)

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