Terrorists operating in Katsina-Sokoto axis have reportedly killed 13 persons in remote areas of farming communities in the last few days.

Reports said at least four farmers were killed, while 70 others were kidnapped at different communities in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State in the last few days.

Some residents revealed that the farmers were attacked while working on their farmlands.

The former chairman of the Sabon Birni Local Government, Idris Danchadi, confirmed the abduction of 70 farmers in the area.

According to him, 19 were kidnapped in Tsamaye village and 11 each in Mazau and Marina communities.

He added that seven children from a single household were abducted in Katume village while eight persons were kidnapped from Garki and Yaradua villages.

Danchadi noted that 15 farmers were whisked away from Unguwan Lalle and seven from Dangawo.

He stated that one Kamaje was killed at Tsamaye village and a son of one Alhaji Aiwa was killed in Dangawo.

A lawmaker representing Sabon Birni North in Sokoto Assembly, Aminu Boza, said the terrorists attacked a bus along Sabon Birnin-Goronyo Road on Monday and abducted all its passengers.

The passengers were mostly women who were said to be returning from a wedding ceremony.

Boza said: “We are at the mercy of bandits despite the presence of security operatives in the area. The bandits have stationed themselves at Peke, Dandutsi and Tudunbali from where they attack our villages and we informed the security but nothing is done about it.”

The chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government, Umar Danyaro, however, said the gunmen only passed through the area without any abduction.

“The bandits were returning from Niger Republic with their loots and as usual fired some warning shots while passing through Unguwan Ialle-Tsamaye area and residents of the area were afraid and fled to other villages.

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“And I was told that many of them have returned back to their places,” he said

The chairman also denied knowledge of the abduction of women along the Unguwan-Lalle axis.

When contacted, the Sokoto State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sanusi Abubakar, confirmed the incident but declined to give account of the attack.

However, the spokesman for the 8 Division of the Nigeria Army, Sokoto, Major Yahya Ngulde, could not be reached for comments.

A credible source in the military told journalists in Sokoto that troops were mobilised to Sabon Birni on Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, similar incidents in Katsina State have been reported where nine residents were killed and others injured in Faskari, Funtua, and Bakori Local Government Areas.

It was gathered that the bandits attacked Ruwan Godiya in Faskari LGA and killed six people, while four others were injured on Tuesday.

Similarly, the terrorists, on the same day, reportedly carried out an attack on Kadirawa in the Tafoki area of Faskari LGA where they rustled an unspecified number of cattle and carted away two motorcycles.

A resident who fled to Funtua, Alhaji Kabo, disclosed that the assailants killed a 30-year old man, identified as Abdulazeez Haruna.

Some residents further confirmed that the gunmen struck in Gandun Sarki, a Fulani settlement in Bakori LGA, killed two men and abducted a married woman.

It was gathered that the abductors had reached out to the family of the victim and demanded N2 million ransom.

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“They also asked four Fulani settlements to pay N2,000,000 each as tax to forestall further attacks on their settlements,” a resident, who pleaded anonymity, said.

In another incident, bandits, in the early hours of Wednesday, stormed the residence of one Aliyu Muazu at Jabiri, a suburb of Funtua town, and forced their way into his house by breaking four doors.

“They came at about 1 a.m. shooting in the air and laid siege in my street before they forced their way into my house obviously with the intent to abduct me or my family. They spent over an hour in the house but policemen from the Funtua division intervened,” Muazu disclosed.

Speaking on the incident, the Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, confirmed that six people were killed in Ruwan Godiya village,.

Isah added that police operatives, in the early hours of Wednesday, foiled a kidnapping attempt at Jabri.

The Star