Suspected Bandits
Adebayo Fajinmi
Bandits have killed no fewer than 24 people, including the village head and three traditional rulers in Ganar Kiyawa, a village in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
TOS NEWS gathered that the attack happened in the early hours of Sunday.
Bandits from the Gando forest in Bukkuyum and Anka local government areas have been attacking residents since January. Some attacks on several villages in the two areas early this year that left 200 people dead.
Zamfara, a state in northwestern Nigeria is one of the states that terrorists are holding by the jugular.
In February, the terrorists collected N12 million from residents of Gana and Nasarawa Burkullu before they released 26 people abducted earlier. The ransom was taken to the bandits in Gando forest, residents said.
According to Abubakar Gero, a youth leader in Bukkuyum Local Government Area, the attack was long feared as residents of the community, especially the men, had been sleeping in the bush and other safer communities in horror of the bandits.
“Yes, 24 people were killed by the bandits in yesterday’s attack. The village head and some other traditional rulers as well as residents were killed. They (bandits) have been trying to attack the community but because their main targets were not always sleeping in the town, they decided to come in the morning,” he said.
Abdullahi Musa, a resident of Gana, not far from Ganar Kiyawa community, revealed to PREMIUM TIMES that the bandits started shooting sporadically the moment they entered the village.
“Most of those who slept out of the community as usual were returning home when the bandits entered from the western route. They started shooting sporadically before they went on a house to house search for domestic animals and other valuables. All the shops were looted by the bandits while the residents ran for their lives,” he said.
Musa said there were more than 20 people in his village seeking refuge as of Sunday evening.
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“We cannot say how many people were kidnapped so far but those who have been killed, the residents were able to gather 23 corpses for burial. Another corpse was also found after the initial 23. It could be more especially now that the residents are afraid to go deep into the bushes to look for their dead,” he said
Calls to Mohammed Shehu, spokesperson of the Zamfara Police Command were not answered at the time of filing this report.
