At least 20 people were killed in Nigeria's Sokoto state when gunmen attacked a market and torched cars, as armed gangs continue to wreak havoc in the northwest part of the country, a state official and local member of parliament said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Northwestern Nigeria has since last December witnessed a wave of kidnappings of school children and villagers for ransoms by bandits, disrupting everyday life for millions of citizens.
Idriss Gobir, special advisor to the Sokoto police affairs minister, said the armed bandits rode on motorcycles and shot sporadically, killing several people.
"The bandits in large numbers killed at least 20 people that we have seen and counted and set nine vehicles on fire," he told Reuters by telephone.