Gunmen attack Zamfara Communities, abduct over 44 villagers - The Guardian Nigeria News

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have stormed the town of Bungudu and the villages of Yargada, Maikogo, and Magami district of Gusau and Maru LGAs of Zamfara State and carried out deadly operations in the State.

One of the escapees, in the deadly attack in Magama Mairake, Malam Ibrahim Magaji, explained that the bandits, who came in large numbers, stormed the village at around 1:13:00 a.m., shooting sporadically before they commenced house-to-house searches for their targeted victims.

Continuing, Magaji said that the gunmen, who gained entrance into the village through the power of guns, gained access to many houses and were able to abduct about 44 people, mostly women and children, who were helplessly forced into the nearby forest.

He further stated that, in the course of abducting their targeted victims, the bandits set more than ten parked vehicles ablaze, including Canter trucks and other commercial vehicles belonging to the members of the community.

Another eyewitness in Magama Mairake, who demanded anonymity for security reasons, said a Police team quickly responded to the distress call, but they could not instantly face the bandits due to their numbers and the kind of weapons they carry, which are not as sophisticated as those carried by the suspected bandits.

“Considering the time the Police team arrived in the village, the abducted victims could have been rescued, but due to the sophisticated weapons carried by the bandits, the Police team had to embark on plans to prevent them from moving further with the victims”, he cried.

The attackers have, according to narrations, simultaneously invaded the villages of ‘Yargada and Maikogo, all under Magami district of Gusau local government area, where they abducted an unspecified number of people.

Also, another group of suspected bandits attacked the headquarters of Bungudu local government area on Sunday evening, allegedly killing an unspecified number and abducting 11 people.

According to a resident of Bungudu, the gunmen were allegedly on a mission to re-abduct the local government Chairman who recently escaped from their enclave alongside 4 others.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Yazid Abubakar, said a report has been received that suspected bandits have invaded and abducted 11 persons, and the Zamfara State Police Command has already deployed a Search and Rescue Squad with a view to ensuring the safe rescue of the victims.

In addition, the PPRO further revealed that the same team has since been deployed to secure the release of people abducted by the bandits in Magama Mairake under Maru local government area.

He said that, the Command is still investigating the actual number of abducted persons, which might be quite less than what members of the community had claimed.

The exact figure, according to the PPRO, has not been identified yet, as Police are currently investigating the incident as well as cordoning off the area by the search and rescue team in an effort to prevent further movement by the suspected bandits with the victims.

“The deployed men of the Zamfara Police Command are currently there doing the needful to prevent any further movement by the suspected bandits in their efforts to escape with the victims”.