Armed attackers set fire to a room in a Zamfara village home late Saturday night, killing a family of 12 trapped inside after they failed to break down the door, Agence France-Presse reported on Sunday.
- Twelve members of a single family, including a man named Malam Sani and 11 relatives, died from heat and asphyxiation during the night raid.
- Bandits on motorcycles launched the indiscriminate shooting attack on the outskirts of Maradun town, prompting most residents to flee.
- Seven additional villagers, including six women and a 10-year-old child, were abducted during the assault according to local accounts.
The assault began late Saturday night as armed bandits arrived on motorcycles, according to local resident Bello Mohammed. The attackers opened fire indiscriminately on the village near Maradun town. Most residents scattered into the bush to escape the gunfire.
Local official Sanusi Ahmed stated that a resident named Malam Sani sought refuge in a single room with 11 family members. When the attackers could not force open the door, they poured fuel and ignited the room from the exterior. Ahmed participated in the burial of the victims on Sunday.
Unorganized gangs known locally as “bandits” operate widely across Zamfara and other states in northwestern and central Nigeria. These groups routinely engage in mass kidnapping for ransom and cattle rustling.
Ahmed confirmed that the extreme heat and smoke inside the locked room caused the deaths of all 12 individuals trapped inside. Mohammed corroborated both the narrative and the casualty figures following the Sunday burials.
