Suspected bandits have abducted more than 50 residents of Garin Idi, the hometown of Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Idris Mohammed Gobir.

Residents told Daily Trust that the attackers invaded the village between 10 p.m. on Monday and about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, firing sporadically to scare residents before splitting into two groups and moving through different parts of the community.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said one group stormed a house where they rounded up about 30 women and marched them into the bush.

According to him, the second group moved to an Islamic school where more than 20 men, comprising both elderly and younger Qur’anic students, were studying before they were also abducted, bringing the total number of victims to more than 50.

He said before leaving the village, the bandits released one of the captives and instructed him to inform the village head, the Imam and other community leaders to meet them in the forest for negotiations.

“The village head, the Imam and other stakeholders went to meet them. During the discussions, the bandits demanded N1 million for the women and N600,000 for the other abductees,” the resident said.

He added that after the meeting, residents went from house to house under the supervision of the village head and the Imam and raised N600,000, which was delivered to the bandits.

“Immediately they received the money, they released all those abducted but insisted that the community must pay the remaining N1 million within two days,” he added.

The resident said the threat had heightened fears in the community, recalling how bandits previously set a blind man ablaze after residents failed to honour an earlier agreement to pay ransom.

Another resident of Sabon Birni, who hails from Garin Idi, confirmed the attack but said he could not verify the agreement to pay the outstanding N1 million.

He, however, alleged that the bandits returned to the village at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday, demanding either more victims or N300,000 from the community.

“The villagers hurriedly raised the N300,000 and handed it over to them. The bandits remained in the village for so long that residents had to combine the Maghrib and Isha prayers before they eventually left,” he said.

The residents appealed to the government, as well as security agencies to urgently improve security in the area, lamenting that the community is made up largely of farmers.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, said the command had not received any report of the incident.

“We are not aware because people in most rural communities do not usually report such incidents to the police,” he said. (Daily Trust)

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