By Muhammad Sabiu
Reports coming from northwestern Nigeria have stated that angry people in a Sokoto community, Tangaza, took the bull by the horns, traced suspected bandits in detention and subsequently lynched them.
This is coming barely 12 hours after the bandits launched an attack on the community, which left two persons killed and two others abducted.
Premium Times reports that, first, it was vigilante members armed with locally-made guns and cutlasses in conjunction with the police that went after the bandits, killed two and apprehended about four others.
After their arrest, they were put behind the police net.
The state’s police spokesperson, Sanusi Abubakar, confirmed that in an attack meant to cart away foodstuffs from the community, the bandits launched a raid Friday night.
They were also said to have kidnapped two persons, who were later killed.
Angered by this attack and kidnap, youths in the community planned to join the police in an effort to crush the suspected bandits.
They followed them and successfully killed two and the other four arrested, who were detained in a police station and killed by the angry youths.
The youths insisted that the bandits must be killed, otherwise they would torch the police station.
A resident said, “The youths were angry and despite pleas from the DPO and the local government chairman, they insisted that if the policemen did not kill the bandits in their presence, they would burn down the police station.”
Sokoto State is also one of the northwestern states badly hit by the activities of bandits.