Bandits attack Zamfara communities, kill several people including village head

Armed gunmen popularly called bandits on Tuesday attacked Several communities in Talata Mafara and Bakura Local Government areas in Zamfara State killing scores of people.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the affected communities are Ruwan Gora and Ruwan Gizo (Talata Mafara) and Yar geda (Bakura).

Local sources told this newspaper that the village head of Yargeda, Abdu Umaru, was killed by the bandits.

Kabiru Muhammad, a civil servant and resident of Bakura town, told this reporter that the attackers arrived in the community around 11:45 p.m.

“As usual, they came on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically the moment they entered the village. You could hear the gunshots from Talata Mafara main town. After the attack, four people were killed including the village head, who was killed inside his house. Others were killed throughout the community. A local trader, Malami Shehu and several other persons were kidnapped,” he said.

Mr Muhammad, however, said they could not ascertain the number of those killed because according to him some residents might have run into the bush during the attack.

The local government’s sole administrator of Talata Mafara, Dahiru Maiyara, confirmed the attacks on the communities.

“Yes. Ruwan Gora and Ruwan Gizo were attacked so also Yargeda under Bakura. We know so far that the village head of Yargeda has been killed alongside other residents. Overall, we’ve not gathered the number of those killed and those abducted. The attacks were simultaneously carried,” he said.

Mr Mai Yara promised the numbers of those killed and abducted are confirmed.

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He also confirmed that the deputy governor, Hassan Nasiha, Commissioner of police, Ayuba Elkana among others have visited the communities attacked.

A House of Representatives member, representing Anka/ Talata Mafara, Kabiru Yahaya, has also condemned the attacks, calling on the government at all levels to protect its citizens.

Police authorities are yet to release an official statement on the attack and an SMS sent to the command spokesperson, Mohammed Shehu, was not replied to.

States in the northwest like Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina Sokoto and Kebbi and Niger in the North-central region have become a hotbed for gunmen locally referred to as bandits, who go on regular killing sprees on unprotected communities. The bandits also abduct people for ransom and force villages to pay protection levies.