Gunmen have kidnapped five people, including two pregnant women, during a raid on Maiwa Village in the Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

A local source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, claimed the gunmen entered the village around 5 p.m. on Saturday.

He said the heavily armed bandits stormed the village on seven motorcycles.

“They came and met us sitting at the mosque, and before they shot in the air, I ran speedily towards the Police officers.

“They (Police officers) also fled and abandoned their place of work when they saw two of the bandits pursuing me on motorcycles.

“After I escaped, they returned and went into houses and abducted the victims,” he said.

Sadiya Umar, Firdausi Umar, Maryam Musa, Ubaida Musa, and Harira Nura were the abducted victims.

According to him, two of the abducted women, Sadiya and Ubaida, are heavily pregnant and scheduled to give birth shortly.

The resident said that the attackers rustled 12 cows but later returned them.

Following the attack, many residents fled to neighbouring Niger Republic, but returned on Sunday morning.

Efforts to speak with the police spokesperson in the state, DSP Ahmad Rufai, remained unsuccessful as he didn’t respond to calls and text messages as of the time of filing this report. (The Sun)