Armed men killed at least 12 people and abducted women and children during a night attack on Lajinge village in Nigeria's northwestern Sokoto state. The assault combined killings, arson, kidnapping and livestock theft in a single raid on the rural community.
Residents said the gunmen entered Lajinge at about 11 p.m. on Saturday and continued attacking until roughly 3 a.m. on Sunday. The four-hour duration left villagers exposed through the night before the assailants withdrew.
Six members of one family burned to death after the attackers set their house on fire. The incident accounted for half of the confirmed death toll and showed the destructive use of arson alongside direct armed violence.
Resident Auwal Hassan said at least four other people were wounded and that the attackers abducted women and children after taking large numbers of livestock. The number and identities of those kidnapped were not immediately specified.
Northwestern Nigeria faces repeated raids by heavily armed groups commonly described as bandits. These gangs attack villages, kidnap residents for ransom and steal animals, making rural populations vulnerable to both lethal violence and the loss of their livelihoods.
Sokoto police spokesperson Ahmed Rufai said officers were investigating and would issue further information. The Lajinge attack occurred one week after armed gangs killed at least 24 farmers in neighbouring Zamfara state, adding another incident to a concentrated wave of violence across the northwest.
