Residents of Sabon Birni in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State are living in pain as life turned sour for them when bandits stormed the town and neighboring villages in their numbers and unleashed terror, leaving tales of anguish in its wake.
Reports said while some men were killed and cows rustled about two weeks ago, about 50,000 villagers were displaced in the attack that spread to many localities.
In Sabon Birni town, for instance, thousands of helpless women and their children are now internally displaced persons (IDPs) after taking refuge at the local government council secretariat and Abdulhamid Model Primary School, Sabon Birni.
Daily Trust gathered that while the majority of the victims had relocated to Tudun Sunnah in Maradi State of Niger Republic, several others who would have also escaped to Niger could not because of some reasons.
Since the brazen attack which ruined the usual relative peace that the people had been enjoying in the villages, anguish, trauma, and lamentations have been the order of the day for the embattled residents.
Daily Trust reports that, unlike Zamfara, Niger, Katsina, and Kaduna states, attacks in Sokoto are grossly underreported.
While some observers said political and community leaders are not forthcoming, the victims said the media must play its role in reporting what is happening, saying that was the only way to address the problem.
Our correspondent recalled that the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III recently said the number of people killed by criminals across the country was underreported.
He stated this at the 3rd quarter 2021 meeting of the inter-religious council in Abuja. Citing Sokoto as an example, he said the level of insecurity in the country had worsened. According to him, 76 residents of Sokoto State were killed and buried in one day.
Read More: https://dailytrust.com/how-bandits-turned-sokoto-residents-to-idps
