At least 20 people were killed when an armed gang attacked the village of Yar Gamji, near Nigeria's border with Niger, police and residents said on Wednesday.

The attack which happened in the northwest Nigerian state of Katsina, is the latest in a series of attacks as unrest spreads across the region and into the president's home state.

Katsina State is in northern Nigeria and has recently suffered from a string of attacks, including cattle raids and kidnappings.

One person whose brother was killed in the attack said that innocent people are killed almost everyday as gangs carry out attacks in the area.

Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of people have died in the region, in attacks that the government attributes to bandits.

Following this latest incident, police have arrested 70 suspected bandits in the state as search operations continue for people still missing after the attack.