Suspected bandits loyal to notorious leader Bello Turji launched a deadly attack on Bargaja town in Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State in the early hours of Sunday March 15 2026. The assailants stormed the community around 1:30 a.m. triggering widespread panic as residents fled their homes in large numbers. At least two people were killed with reports from some sources indicating up to three deaths and one woman abducted during the raid.

Local vigilantes reportedly engaged the attackers in a gun duel in an attempt to repel the invasion but the bandits overwhelmed the defenses leading to significant casualties and destruction. Eyewitness accounts and circulating videos show desperate residents scrambling to board lorries and vehicles to evacuate to safer areas including Isa town Sokoto metropolis nearby communities and even across borders. This incident is part of a sustained campaign of violence in the region with Bargaja being one of the few communities that had consistently resisted previous incursions by Turji’s fighters.

Security analysts including Bashiru Altine Giyawa have described the situation as deeply worrying noting that repeated attacks almost daily killings and threats have forced a gradual emptying of the town worsening the humanitarian crisis. Displaced families are now sheltering in public schools temporary camps or relocating to neighboring areas facing loss of livelihoods property and basic security. The Sokoto State Police Command has confirmed the attack and casualties with an ongoing investigation but residents express frustration over inadequate security presence and the expanding influence of armed groups along the Sokoto Zamfara axis.

This event highlights the persistent insecurity in northwestern Nigeria where banditry kidnappings and territorial control efforts continue to displace thousands threatening local stability food production and community resilience.