Nigeria, March 24 -- The death toll from Thursday's attack on Madaka, a community in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, has risen to 66, residents said.

Residents said the local vigilantes found many bodies in the forest after the armed bandits withdrew from the community.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that 21 people were killed after the well-armed bandits entered the village shooting sporadically before embarking on an orgy of killings, arson, and abduction.

The district head of the area, Isah Bawale, also told our reporter that properties worth millions of naira were destroyed by the marauding terrorists.

The state's Commissioner for Security, Bello Mohammed, a retired army general, confirmed the incident and said the government w...