According to the source, which cites witnesses, the bandits, some of them riding motorcycles, committed these acts in the towns of Rakkah, Rakkah Dutse and Gwadabawa Kwari.

After requesting the intervention of the authorities to prevent such violent actions, one of the survivors, whose name was not disclosed for security reasons, reported that this is not the first time that the criminals have assaulted villages in Sokoto.

The attacks in that territory come a day after unknown men killed 24 people, most of them members of vigilante organizations fighting criminal gangs, in the northern state of Zamfara.

These incidents took place in the communities of Sikida and Janbako, close to a forest where criminals take refuge, a security source said.

Nigerian troops have recently stepped up attacks against extremist groups and criminal gangs in the northeast and northwest regions of the country, who kill or kidnap people or demand ransom for their release.

In order to reduce the rate of violence in the country, the newly installed president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, promised, along with the strengthening of the security aspect, to guarantee more jobs and to improve the living conditions of the population.

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