Gunmen in Zamfara State have attacked the Nasarawar Mai-fara community in Tsafe Local Government Area, killing over 20 local Villagers.

The gunmen had earlier imposed an N40 million levy on locals in the affected community. A peasant from the community said that the victims of the attack were buried on Friday night. 

According to him, the gunmen had before the attack, come to the community and asked the locals to mobilize N40 million if they needed peace. 

The locals complied and handed over the money to the gunmen. However, “like a bolt from the blue, they came and invaded our community. They killed over 21 people,” he said. 

He said, “the saddest thing was that after killing our people, it was 2 days after, that they allowed us to pick the copses and prepare them for burial.”

A local who narrowly escaped being killed said on entering the community, the gunmen went straight to the Masjid and opened fire on the Muslims praying. 

He said the local vigilantes had confronted the gunmen, immediately after the attack on worshipers. 

“When the conflict intensified, we had to call the security agents but it took them 2 hours before they came. It was gun shots for these 2 hours,” he said. 

He said 11were killed in the Masjid attack, 4 were injured while many women were abducted. 

In a related development, inhabitants of Tofar Magami in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State had to free and left the gunmen were now occupying the community. 

A former resident of the community now in exile told the BBC Hausa service that there was no single original resident of the community now as they all fled.

“The gunmen have turned the place into their camp,” he said. 

“The gunmen are now living in the houses of those who fled They are humiliating us. It got to a stage that they can rape a wife in front of her husband,” he alleged. 

Spokesman of the Zamfara Police Command; SP Muhammad Shehu told the BBC Hausa service that they were able to visit the affected community and commiserated with victims. 

He said a combined team of security agents was mobilized to visit the community and efforts were in place to adopt the right strategy of preventing attacks by gunmen in the community