Armed men killed at least 20 people and injured dozens in a mining village in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state, a rights group said.
Gunmen arrived on motorcycles in the village of Gobirawa Chali in the Dan Gulbi district around midday Thursday (April 24, 2025) and went on a “house-to-house killing spree”, Amnesty International Nigeria said in a post on X the same day.
The gunmen’s first target was a gold-mining site where they initially killed 14 people, before more bodies were found inside homes and in a mosque.
The possible motive for the attack was unclear but bandit groups have been known for mass killings and kidnappings for ransom in the conflict-battered northern region, most of them former herders in conflict with settled communities.
Dozens of armed groups take advantage of a limited security presence in Nigeria’s mineral-rich northwestern region to carry out attacks on villages and along major roads.
“The people of Dan Gulbi district have been repeatedly attacked by gunmen and continue to live perpetually in fear of a potential attack,” Amnesty International Nigeria said in its post, adding that many people are missing since the attack.
The rights group said that residents of the district often require armed security escorts to travel in and out of the area because of the frequent attacks.
Rabi’u Bawa, a resident of Gobirawa Chali, told AP that the raid on the community was a reprisal for an attack that residents had successfully repelled on Wednesday (April 23, 2025). “They lost about seven of their men in that attack,” he said.
Mr. Bawa said the people responsible for the attack are loyal to Dogo Gide, a notorious bandit who has been terrorising communities in the state of Zamfara for months.
Last December, gunmen abducted at least 50 people, including several women and children, in the Maradun area of Zamfara.
Kidnappings for ransom have become a lucrative way for bandit groups to fund other crimes and control villages in the restive region.
Published – April 26, 2025 08:53 am IST
