Bandits on Tuesday night killed 22 people in Tungar Kwana village, Talata-Mafara local government area of Zamfara State.
A resident of the village, who declined to mention his name, told journalists on Wednesday that the bandits invaded the village at about 11:00 p.m. and shot indiscriminately at the people.
He added that several children and women were among the victims of the attack.
However, the spokesman of the state police command, Mohammed Shehu, who confirmed the incident, said 20 people were killed in the attack.
He said the bandits attacked the villagers because they gave useful information that led to the killing of several bandits by security agents last week.
He said: “The police had confirmed the killing of 20 people in that village but not 22.”
“The villagers gave the security agents useful information about some bandits who rustled cows last week and the information helped the security agents to locate and kill the criminals.
“Since that time, the bandits had been targeting the villagers in order to avenge the killing of their people.”