Taiwo Popoola
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Bandits have killed two people and abducted several others during an attack on Bargaja village, Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State.DSP Ahmed Rufai, the State Command Police Public Relations Officer, explained that gunmen allegedly loyal to bandit leader Bello Turji were suspected to have carried out the attack. Rufai assured that a detailed account of the incident would be provided once the Divisional Police Officer in the area submits a field report to the state command.He explained that two were killed, but could not give the exact number of people who were kidnapped, saying that they will get fuller details from the DPO of the local government to determine the number of those abducted.Bargaja, according to security sources and residents, had been attacked days earlier, suggesting repeated raids in the area along the Sokoto–Zamfara axis that caused fresh displacement, with villagers fleeing to Isa town and neighbouring communities.Despite assurances from security agencies, Isa, Sabon Birni, and other parts of eastern Sokoto have continued to experience attacks, kidnappings, and displacement.The report shows the arrival of displaced persons from Tidibale Ward into Isa town, which has become increasingly frequent in recent months as more farming and pastoral settlements come under threat.According to a source, “The whole of Tidibale Ward has been devastated by Bello Turji.”He appealed for federal, state, and local authorities’ intervention, saying that civilians were fast becoming “refugees in their own land.”Following the recent development, neither the Sokoto State Government nor the Isa Local Government Council had issued a response to the situation.
