Armed bandits in Zamfara State shot and injured a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Marafa, on Saturday.
Mr Marafa, a prominent cleric and the former Commissioner for Religious Affairs, narrowly escaped death when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle.
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The incident occurred while he was travelling from Talata Mafara Local Government Area for an APC stakeholders’ meeting in Gusau, the state capital.
Security analyst Bakatsine reported on X that the politician sustained a gunshot wound to the leg.
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According to the report, the bullet has been surgically removed, and Mr Marafa is recuperating at the Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto.
The analyst also shared images of the victim and his vehicle, which was riddled with bullet holes, raising concerns over the escalating bandit attacks on major highways in the state.
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The spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, Abubakar Yazeed, stated that the incident had not yet been formally reported to the police.
Mr Yazeed promised to reach out to the Talata Mafara divisional office to verify the report.
The attack on Mr Marafa is one of several on highways in a state that has become the epicentre of banditry in the North-west and North-central Nigeria.
Highways, such as the Gusau-Funtua, Gusau-Sokoto, and Magami-Dansadau roads, have become death traps.
Bandits often emerge from the forests to set up illegal checkpoints or shoot at moving vehicles.
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