A newlywed man, identified as Sani, was among 21 persons shot dead by bandits who invaded a weekly market in Madaka, an agrarian community in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State on Thursday.
Sani, a butcher who resided in Kagara, the headquarters of Rafi LGA, was said to have gone to the market to sell meat when he was shot during the attack.
He reportedly got married about three weeks ago.
Also, Muslim women were reportedly forced to break their fast by bandits during the attack.
Residents said the attack was launched around 3pm on Thursday when commercial activities had peaked.
One resident, Salihu Abdullahi, told Daily Trust at IBB Specialist Hospital where his 8-year-old daughter shot during the attack was admitted that bandits ordered the women to drink water or risk their lives.
“We were at the neighbouring village where we went to mine gold when we saw people running. Some people started jumping into the river, even those who didn’t know how to swim. So, I rushed home on my motorcycle to pick up my family.
“On my way, I was stopped to go back, that they had taken over the community already. They burnt down our clinic and shops containing goods worth millions of naira, motorcycles, trucks, foodstuffs and houses. They gathered our women and forced them to break their fast. One of them that attempted to resist was beaten mercilessly.
“My little daughter was among those they shot. She’s 8-year-old. In the first place, I counted 11 corpses. More bodies were later recovered. And uptil now, many people have not been accounted for because many people sustained bullet wounds and they ran to the bush. Some people died in the bush.
