Nigeria: At least 29 killed in armed bandit attack

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS Nigeria (AA) - At least 29 people were killed in an attack by armed bandits in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state, police said in a statement released on Saturday.

Victims were ambushed on Thursday night as they were on their way back from a market in Shinkafi district of Zamfara, said Mohamed Shehu, police spokesman for Zamfara which is ravaged by criminal gangs linked to organized crimes and cattle stealing.

Police found 13 bodies at the scene while 16 others were recovered from the bushes in the area, Shehu added.

Victims were civilians including women who were escorting the traders from Shinkafi to Kwari village, according to the police spokesman.

Also, police confirmed on Saturday that a family of six were killed in a fire in northwest Kano state -- a day after locals claimed that 30 people had gone missing in the country's oil rich Bayelsa state in the southern region.