Bandits, on Tuesday, killed at least 29 people in Babban Rafi village, Gummi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

An indigene of the village, Malam Musa Ibrahim, who narrowly escaped from death, told journalists on Thursday that the bandits arrived the village on the early hours of Tuesday on motorbikes and carried AK 47 rifles.

He said the bandits stormed the village in a commando-style, shot sporadically and killed many people, while others scampered for safety. Musa said the bandits later pursued those who ran away and killed some of them.

He said: “I was one of those who ran into the bush. I managed to escape because I was able to climb a tree where I could not be seen.”

Ibrahim said the bandits also carted away animals and foodstuffs when they discovered that there was nobody left in the village.

According to him, the villagers buried 21 people after the attack, while eight bodies were left on the ground as they were strangers.

“We buried 21 bodies because they were natives of the village but we left the other eight corpses because they were strangers who came from Niger State.”

But the state police command said only 14 people were killed in the attack. The command spokesman, Mohammed Shehu, said in a statement: “Zamfara State Police Command has confirmed the killing of 14 people following an attack on the remote village of Babban Rafi in Gummi LGA near Danko in Kebbi State.

“The attack occurred on the 15th of January, 2020 where a large number of armed bandits suspected to have come from neighbouring Kebbi State stormed the village in the night and started shooting sporadically, a situation that resulted to the death of 14 people.

“Combined teams of PMF/CTU/FSARS attached to Operation Puff Adder; in conjunction with men from ‘Operation Hadarin Daji’ mobilized to the area with a view to trailing the perpetrators for arrest and to also avoid further attack on neighbouring villages.” (Vanguard)

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