KANO, Nigeria 

Eleven people, including children and an imam, were killed when suspected gunmen from the outlawed Yan Sakai vigilante group in the Sokoto State in northern Nigeria stormed a market Friday.

The massacre occurred at the Mamande village in Gwadabawa local government.

The victims were from different Fulani settlements in the area who came to buy food and other items at the weekly market.

They died immediately while four others who sustained gunshot wounds were taken to a hospital, according to the head of the Gwadabawa local government Aminua Aya

The imam, Malam Aliyu, was leading prayers at a mosque when the attack occurred.

The gunmen stormed the market from Goronyo Local Government Area, attacking the victims they accused of aiding banditry before fleeing with sheep and cows of the victims.

Witness Ahmad Wada said the victims’ sin was that they belonged to the Fulani tribe.

He demanded that the government conduct an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Aya said the dead were taken to the Morgue of Specialist Hospital, Sokoto, and some relatives went to recover the bodies.

In April, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal prohibited activities of Yan Sakai in the state.