Armed bandits on Friday night attacked Rimawa village in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, shooting three residents, carting away mobile phones and power banks from the community’s main phone charging centre, and rustling several cattle and sheep.

Residents told Daily Trust that the assailants stormed the village at about 8:40 p.m. and operated until around 11 p.m., with no security intervention throughout the attack.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attackers split into two groups, with one concentrating on rustling livestock while the other fired sporadically to keep residents indoors and prevent them from defending their property.

“They invaded our village around 8:40 p.m. One group concentrated on rustling livestock while the other kept shooting to prevent residents from resisting.

“They also looted the village’s main phone charging centre, making away with all the mobile phones and power banks left there by customers for charging, including some phones valued at N200,000, N400,000 and N500,000,” he said.

The resident said the bandits had made several failed attempts to invade Rimawa over the past week but were repelled by local volunteers before Friday’s attack.

He added that the attackers arrived early and disguised themselves, making it difficult for residents to identify them before they launched the assault from the community’s main motor park.

“We alerted all the relevant security agencies immediately the attack started, but no reinforcement came. The bandits spent more than two hours in the village. Those driving away the animals left first, while the others continued shooting before they eventually withdrew,” he said.

According to the resident, one man died on Saturday after suffering complications from high blood pressure allegedly triggered by the shock and fear caused by the attack.

He said Rimawa had no stationed security personnel despite repeated attacks, forcing residents to rely on local volunteers for protection.

“There are no soldiers or Mobile Police in our community. We have repeatedly appealed for security deployment, but none has been provided. It is only our local volunteers and God’s protection that have kept us going,” he lamented.

The attack is the latest in a series of bandit raids reported in parts of eastern Sokoto, where residents have continued to raise concerns over persistent insecurity and the absence of security personnel in vulnerable communities.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, confirmed the attack to Daily Trust but said he could not immediately provide details of the casualties as he was driving.

“I am driving now. Let me stop first and verify the details before I get back to you,” he said.

However, the police spokesperson had yet to call back to provide the requested information as of the time of filing this report. (Daily Trust)