Bandits killed 47 people in coordinated attacks against several farming villages in Katsina State, northern Nigeria, the president's office and local police said on Sunday.
Men on motorbikes carried out "organised and simultaneous attacks", on the villages, Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah said in a statement.
The predawn raids on Saturday targeted villages in the Dutsenma, Danmusa and Safana districts, he added.
A spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, confirmed the attack in a statement condemning the gunmen as "bandits".
Isah said members of the security forces, including soldiers and policemen, had deployed to the area on Sunday.