Members of a local vigilante group in Bargaja village, Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State, have reportedly killed three suspected bandits during a clash in the early hours of Sunday.

Sources said the bandits invaded the village through an outskirt route at about 1:30 a.m., attempting to launch an attack on the community.

A community leader who spoke on condition of anonymity said the attackers initially hid on trees around the village cemetery, while others reportedly sneaked into a house on the outskirts of the village where they confronted members of the local vigilante group guarding the area.

According to him, one vigilante member was killed at the beginning of the encounter before other members of the group engaged the attackers in a gun duel, during which three of the bandits were reportedly killed.

He added that the attackers later pursued another vigilante member who had taken refuge in a house and killed him.

“They killed two of our vigilante members. We also killed three of the bandits during the exchange of gunfire,” he said.

The two vigilantes who lost their lives were identified as Umar Ibrahim and Abubakar Abdullahi.

Residents said the attackers later used a donkey to carry away the bodies of their slain members, allegedly to conceal their identities.

They were said to have abandoned their motorcycles at a distance from the village to avoid detection due to the noise of the engines.

“They entered the village on foot because they knew we were guarding the community. They parked their motorcycles far away so that we would not hear the sound. After the clash, they used a donkey to carry the bodies of those killed and fled after breaking the fence of a house,” another resident said.

The incident was said to have triggered panic among residents, with some reportedly attempting to flee the village.

However, a member of the village security committee said community leaders, including the village head and the commander of the community guards, intervened and persuaded residents to remain calm and stay in the community.

Residents also lamented the frequent attacks in the area, noting that Bargaja is among the communities without a permanent security presence despite facing similar security challenges as neighbouring communities.

They appealed to both the state and federal governments to deploy security personnel to the village to address the persistent threat of banditry.

“We urgently need a security presence here because attacks by bandits are becoming too frequent. Even at the beginning of Ramadan, some people were killed in our community,” a resident said.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Sokoto State Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, confirmed that the police were aware of the attack and the casualties recorded during the incident. (Daily Trust)