A Nigerian official says the death toll from a Saturday night attack by gunmen in northwest Kaduna state has risen to 33, while more than 40 houses were torched.
Witnesses said heavily armed men attacked Runji village in Zangon Kataf district when residents were sleeping, and started shooting. They also set fire to the village before security forces intervened.
The head of the district, Francis Sani, said the dead have been buried and survivors are being treated.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but residents say armed groups known locally as bandits are to blame.
Bandits were responsible for a similar attack three days earlier that killed eight people in a nearby village.
Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai called the attack unacceptable and unjustifiable.
State police spokesman Mohammed Jalige told VOA Monday that authorities are investigating but did not comment on casualties.
But security analyst Chidi Omeje said frequent attacks shows authorities are failing to protect the people.
"Police haven't really been a serious factor in the fight against banditry,” he said. “The police lack the capacity, indeed they lack the right leadership to take on such a level of criminality. It's a pity, it shows clearly that we have not won the war against bandits."
Kaduna state authorities say security forces are in the area to maintain law and order.
Banditry, kidnapping for ransom and communal clashes are some of the security problems Nigerian authorities have been struggling for years to control.
Decades-old sectarian violence in Kaduna has left thousands of people dead and residents often accuse state authorities of willful neglect.
Last month, rights group Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to put a stop to attacks after at least 35 people were killed in a separate incident in Kaduna.
Nigeria is also battling an Islamist militant insurgency in the northeast that has lingered for more than 13 years.
Nigerians went to the polls in February and March to elect new leaders. On Monday, outgoing Kaduna governor El-Rufai chaired a meeting with his successor.
Many hope that addressing insecurity will be the top priority for the new administration.
