Six persons were killed in an attack by suspected cattle rustlers in Kukoki community of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The council’s chairman, Mark Jagaba, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Minna that the attack lasted for about four hours.
He said that four Fulani and two Gbagyi were killed while several women and children were injured.
He said that members of the community reported that the suspects, numbering about 50 and armed with weapons, stormed the community at about 7am shooting in all directions.
Jagaba said the cattle rustlers stole over 700 cows and an undisclosed number of goats and sheep before fleeing the community.
He said the attack came barely three weeks after nine people were killed in a similar incident in the Kurebe and Kwaki Chukuba wards of Shiroro Local Government Area.
He said that peace had since returned to the area.
The chairman appealed to security agencies in the state to assist a vigilance group in the area to check cattle rustlers and indiscriminate killings of innocent people.
Confirming the attack, the Police Public Relations Officer, Niger State, Bala Elkana, said that two suspects had been arrested while efforts were on to apprehend the others.
He said the command had yet to ascertain the actual number of cows stolen by the attackers.
He said that the police had beefed up security within the community and its environs.
He said the police the anti-cattle rustling team were searching the forest through which the invaders escaped.