Abuja, Mar 22: At least 21 people were recently killed when a group of suspected gunmen attacked a village in north-central Nigeria’s Niger State, local media reported Friday.

The gunmen, who attacked the Madaka village in the Rafi local government area of Niger Thursday afternoon, shot indiscriminately at residents while burning down about 50 houses and shops, and many cars and motorcycles during the carnage, Premium Times, a local online newspaper, reported.

Citing local sources, the local newspaper reported that “an unspecified number of people were also abducted” during the attack.

Isah Bwale, a district head of the area, told reporters that the orgy of killings, arson, and abduction wreaked havoc in the village.

The state government has launched measures to protect local communities against future attacks, said Bello Mohammed, the commissioner for security in Niger, at a press briefing.

Wasiu Abiodun, the spokesman for the police in Niger, told Xinhua over the telephone that an investigation has been launched into the incident.

UNI/