‘We thought it was police’ – Residents recall deadly Bauchi bandit attack

Residents of Rafin Ciyawa village in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State have recounted the harrowing moments suspected bandits invaded their community, killing two children, injuring six others and abducting three residents.

The midnight attack, which threw the community into panic, was confirmed by the Bauchi State Police Command on Wednesday.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Nafiu Habib, told DAILY POST that the attackers killed two children and abducted three people during the invasion.

He said personnel of the Village Rescue Committee and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, supported by local hunters and vigilantes, had been deployed to the area to rescue the abducted victims and apprehend those responsible for the attack.

Speaking with DAILY POST, a resident, Zubairu Yahaya, said the children had been sleeping outside in front of their Quranic teacher’s house because of the hot weather when the gunmen struck at about 12:30 am.

“We thought the gunshots were from policemen or local vigilantes. It was only later that we realised the village was under attack by bandits,” he said.

“When we got to where the children were sleeping, we found two of them already dead while six others had suffered serious gunshot injuries.”

Yahaya said the attackers briefly left the community but returned moments later, moving from house to house in search of a man identified as Saminu and his younger brother, Safiyanu, whom they believed had recently received a large sum of money.

According to him, when the gunmen failed to locate the brothers, they abducted members of their family instead.

He further claimed that the attackers admitted the killing of the two children was accidental, insisting the victims were not their intended targets.

“They asked us to accept the deaths as the will of Allah before leaving with the kidnapped victims,” he said.

Another resident, Mukhtar Usman, said he narrowly escaped death after the gunmen stormed his home in search of his younger brother.

He said the attackers abducted three members of his household, Rukkaya, Samsiyya and Kabiru, and had since contacted the family, initially demanding N100 million before reducing the ransom to N10 million.

“We are still negotiating with them,” Usman said.

DAILY POST reports that the attack has left residents in shock, with community members appealing to the government and security agencies to rescue the abducted victims and strengthen security in the area to prevent a recurrence.