Gunmen have killed at least 57 members of a local self-defence vigilante group in clashes in northwestern Nigeria, a security source and local residents said. President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the "brutal murder of tens of vigilante members" in the latest violence involving heavily armed gangs known locally as bandits, who raid and loot villages across northwest Nigeria.
Police confirmed Monday's clashes in Zuru district of Kebbi State, without giving a casualty figure. But the security source said 57 bodies had been recovered while two local residents said 62 people were killed. Local residents often form informal vigilante units, known as Yansakai, to protect villages from bandit raids, though some states banned them after they were accused of abuses and extra-judical killings. - AFP
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