Cattle thieves kill 14 in Nigeria village

Kano, Nigeria — Dozens of armed cattle thieves killed 14 people and stole herds during a raid on a village in central Nigeria, police said Thursday.

The latest deadly attack by cattle rustlers in the restive region was on the Ukuru village in Niger state on Wednesday, regional police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said.

“The gunmen opened fire on the village, killing 14 people and wounding five others,” Abiodun said.

“The attackers stole an unspecified number of cattle from the village.”

Police officers were sent to the area to track down the assailants with the help of local vigilantes, he added.

Armed gangs of cattle thieves, called bandits by locals, regularly raid villages in central and northwestern Nigeria, killing and kidnapping people as well as looting and burning homes.

They have generally been motivated by money, but security experts warn the region’s jihadist groups have been increasingly infiltrating their ranks.

Boko Haram, which has waged a bloody Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria for over a decade, released a propaganda video earlier this month showing bandits from Niger state pledging allegiance to the group.