A humanitarian worker, Lydia Chinenye Nwankwo, and a police inspector have been killed in attacks by suspected bandits on communities in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State, according to her family and the state police command.
Ms Nwankwo, a humanitarian and field operations professional, was attacked on Tuesday, October 6, as she and members of her team were returning from field operations. Daily Trust reported that the attack happened at about 7 p.m. along the Kajiji-Shagari road, that two other people in the vehicle were injured, and that Ms Nwankwo was shot in the chest. Other outlets place the team’s return from Kajiji community.
Her sister confirmed the death in a Facebook post. “B@nd!ts attacked her and her team and shot her dead,” she wrote. The family told Daily Trust they became worried when Ms Nwankwo did not return home and could not be reached by phone. Her body was brought home in a Hilux vehicle at about 11 p.m., several hours after the attack. The family said she worked with a development partner supporting the Sokoto State Ministry of Health.
Colleagues in the humanitarian community in Sokoto are in mourning. They described her as a dedicated field worker who served vulnerable people in hard-to-reach areas.
The Sokoto State Police Command confirmed the attack on communities in Shagari and said a police inspector was also k!lled. Command spokesman DSP Ahmed Rufai said the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Shagari had briefed the state headquarters, and that police were still gathering information to establish what happened and how many people were affected. Some reports named the inspector as Isah Muhammad Girkau, but the police have not confirmed his identity. The command had not released a full account of casualties at the time of reporting.
Band!t violence has made much of north-western Nigeria dangerous for aid workers, who often travel to remote communities with little security. Sokoto is one of the states where armed groups regularly raid villages and ambush travellers on rural roads.
A young woman who worked to bring health support to hard-to-reach communities has been killed on her way home. Police have promised more details as their investigation continues, and her colleagues and family are left to mourn her
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