Cattle thieves have killed 23 people in northern Nigeria’s Zamfara state which has been battling cattle rustling and kidnapping in recent months, a local government official said late Saturday. “We buried 23 people killed in the attack, including vigilantes who tried to fight off the bandits”, he said. Muhammad said the gunmen had earlier on Friday invaded the remote village, carting away some cattle but were forced to flee by local vigilantes who fought them off and reclaimed the stolen herd. “Most of the victims were vigilantes who put up a fight against the bandits,” he said. Cattle rustlers have for several years been terrorising herding and farming villages in the state, stealing herds and killing residents who resist them.

Source: The Guardian June 03, 2018 08:48 UTC