At least 20 people have been killed in an attack on a market in Sokoto state in northwestern Nigeria. Gunmen opened fire and set cars on fire.
According to Idriss Gobir, special adviser to the Minister of Police Affairs in Sokoto, the men were riding motorcycles and fired around them. “A large number of gang members killed at least 20 people and set fire to at least nine vehicles,” he told Reuters news agency. A member of the local parliament blames the victims on the lack of security in the state.
Gangs have plagued northwestern Nigeria for some time now. Since December, schoolchildren and villagers have been kidnapped with great regularity, after which a ransom is demanded. In parts of Sokoto and the surrounding states, the telecommunications network is blocked to disrupt the gangs.
Last Thursday, security guards were able to free 187 more people who had been kidnapped by gang members in the neighboring state of Zamfara.
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