Dozens dead as gunmen attack defenders

Gunmen have killed nearly 70 members of a local defence group in Nigeria’s northwest region in attacks since Sunday and the violence is continuing, members of the force and residents said.

The attackers ambushed members of the local defence group in the Zuru area of Kebbi state as they were responding to calls for help in some remote villages, John Mani, a leader of the civilian defence force in Zuru, said.

At least 67 people had been confirmed dead from attacks by the gunmen, said Mani, who added that the death toll was expected to rise as the attackers “are still operating”.

“They just lay ambush on my people. They came and were doing their operations and my people went to see if they can help because the authorities are not doing anything,” he said.

Though Kebbi police spokesman Nafiu Abubakar confirmed the incident, he said the death toll was not known yet.

Residents have in the past accused authorities of being reluctant to speak about such attacks which have become rampant in northern Nigeria where remote communities are the most affected. Many times the violence is not reported until days later when officials recover the bodies of victims.

Although security forces have been deployed in the affected Kebbi communities, according to the police spokesman, Mani said some of his men and local residents were still trapped.

“They are holding people hostage,” he said on the phone. “Even as we are speaking, they are there operating around Giri Wasa village.” He alleged that the security agencies “didn’t respond at all”.

Nigerian authorities have in the past identified the attackers as young men mostly from the Fulani ethnic group who have traditionally worked as nomadic cattle herders and have been caught up in a decades-long conflict with Hausa farming communities over access to water and grazing land.