Nigeria: 30 Passengers Killed in Bus Attack

At least 30 passengers in Nigeria’s Sokoto state were burnt to death when gunmen torched the bus on Tuesday, according to police and residents said.

Sanusi Abubakar, a spokesman for the northwestern Sokoto state police, stated that the bus was carrying 24 passengers when it was set alight by armed men.

Abubakar added that seven people had managed to escape, but with injuries, and were taken to hospital.

Two residents told Reuters that the bus was overloaded, and the bodies were burnt beyond recognition. The 30 people included women and children.

The residents said the villagers were ambushed on a road linking the Sabon Birni local government area and the village of Gidan Bawa in Sokoto state.

Gunmen, known locally as bandits, have been carrying out violent attacks targeting villagers and commuters traveling on highways. They kidnapped hundreds of school-children for ransom in the north of the country.

Last week, 29 people, including children, died as a boat capsized in northwest Nigeria’s Kano state.

A rescue agency spokesman revealed that an overloaded boat carrying over 50 passengers, mostly children aged 8 to 15, capsized in northwest Nigeria.

“We have recovered 29 bodies … and rescued seven passengers. The search for the remaining bodies is ongoing,” Saminu Abdullahi, spokesman for Kano state’s fire service, told AFP.