LAGOS
Nigerian authorities confirmed on Tuesday that 16 persons were killed Saturday night when armed bandits attacked villagers in the country's northwest Zamfara State.
"About 150 armed hoodlums who invaded the villages on motorcycles perpetrated the act," Zamfara Police spokesman Lawal Abdullahi told Anadolu Agency.
He said twelve people were killed in Tungar Rakumi village alone, while the rest were killed in other villages.
"They were heavily armed with AK47 assault rifles and villagers said the attack may be some sort of reprisals for the killing of three cattle rustlers in last week," added the spokesman.
Abdullahi said no arrest has been made in connection with the incident and lamented that such attacks often succeed because much of the areas lack adequate network coverage.
"The terrain is very difficult because there is no network coverage in much of the areas," he said.
"The hoodlums often get away because the villagers don't have any means of urgently communicating emergencies to the security agencies," said the police spokesman.
By Rafiu Ajakaye
englishnews@aa.com.tr
