Police confirm killing of five persons in Zamfara community

The Zamfara State police command has confirmed the killing of five persons in Gidan Halilu village in Birnin-Magaji Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson, Muhammad Shehu, made the confirmation in a statement issued in Gusau, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“We wish to confirm that on December 19, a group of armed bandits attacked some villagers of Gidan Halilu Village in Billashe district of Birnin Magaji Local Government Area in their farms.

“On receiving the report, the command mobilised teams of Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit and conventional personnel headed by the Area commander, Kaura Namoda Police Area Command, to the affected community.

“The police teams have been mobilised to the affected village to repel the attack, restore normalcy and arrest the perpetrators,’’ he said, in the NAN report.

According to Mr Shehu, the area has been subjected to extensive bush combing with a view to preventing further attacks.

The police spokesperson said that fear reduction and confidence building patrols, as well as stop and search exercise, were ongoing in the area.

Mr Shehu, who said normalcy had been restored in the area, appealed to residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movement to the nearest police station for prompt action, the report highlighted.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that suspected armed bandits on Wednesday stormed three communities in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of the state, killing many residents. Some of those killed were working on their farms when they were attacked.

Sources said the armed bandits came heavily armed and opened fire on the farmers who were harvesting sweet potatoes at Garin Haladu community.

A resident told PREMIUM TIMES that, “the armed bandits came around 1 o’clock noon and opened fire on some youth harvesting sweet potatoes at Garin Haladu community and killed ten people.”

He added that “they came back in the evening and ransacked some villages around.”

The source said in Wednesday’s attack, 12 people were killed at Garin Haladu community. At Nasarawa Godal community, four persons were killed, while at Garin Kaka community, nine people were killed, he said. The three communities are in the same local government.

“Many youth from Nasarawa Godal community ran to Garin Haladu to help the neighbouring community fight the attackers. Among them, four persons were killed by the armed bandits and their corpses were discovered today (Thursday),” the source said.

The source, who asked not to be named for security reasons, named those killed from Nasarawa Godal community as Kurma Garba, Sunusi Mairoba, Ibrahim Yahuza and Haruna Dangodal.

Those four have been buried.

Many were injured and are receiving medical treatment at Nasarawa Godal hospital, he said.

Some, whose situations worsened, were referred to Kaura Namoda hospital in the state.

The affected local government, Birnin Magaji, is the hometown of Nigeria’s defence minister, Mansur Dan Ali.