Up to 60 people were killed in an attack by gunmen on a cattle market in Nigeria's northeastern city of Potiskum, hospital sources and rescuers reported on Thursday.
A top emergency official in the region told reporters on condition of anonymity that 60 people were killed in the raid on Wednesday night, including 34 bodies sent to the hospital morgue and 26 others buried by their relatives.
"I can tell you that 60 people actually died during the attack, but we know this is outrageous and the police will not like to talk about this," the official added.
"A number of armed men shot their way into the market early on Wednesday afternoon. I don't know whether they were trying to steal cattle or money, because the cattle dealers carry a lot of money with them," said Abdul Aziz, a money changer in the remote Potiskum market, which attracts crowds from neighbouring Chad and Niger.
"One of the gunmen was caught and burned to death using a tyre and oil and everybody returns to his normal business after a while, thinking everything is over. However, we were surprised when they came back at about 7 p.m, about 10 of them shooting sporadically
A top emergency official in the region told reporters on condition of anonymity that 60 people were killed in the raid on Wednesday night, including 34 bodies sent to the hospital morgue and 26 others buried by their relatives.
"I can tell you that 60 people actually died during the attack, but we know this is outrageous and the police will not like to talk about this," the official added.
"A number of armed men shot their way into the market early on Wednesday afternoon. I don't know whether they were trying to steal cattle or money, because the cattle dealers carry a lot of money with them," said Abdul Aziz, a money changer in the remote Potiskum market, which attracts crowds from neighbouring Chad and Niger.
"One of the gunmen was caught and burned to death using a tyre and oil and everybody returns to his normal business after a while, thinking everything is over. However, we were surprised when they came back at about 7 p.m, about 10 of them shooting sporadically
According to Toyin Gbadegesin, a police spokesman, said: "At
this point, it became a large scale attack – about 30 people were killed
and the same number were injured."
A police officer at the scene put the death toll higher, saying at least 50 people were killed. "It's possible many more perished because families came to remove their dead," he said. "There are at least 20 burnt-out cars and [dead] animals scattered everywhere. Some people were trampled."
A hospital specialist in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, confirmed to reporters that 34 corpses were brought to the morgue.
A police officer at the scene put the death toll higher, saying at least 50 people were killed. "It's possible many more perished because families came to remove their dead," he said. "There are at least 20 burnt-out cars and [dead] animals scattered everywhere. Some people were trampled."
A hospital specialist in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, confirmed to reporters that 34 corpses were brought to the morgue.
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