Gunmen suspected to be bandits have launched simultaneous attacks on several communities in Zamfara State, abducting dozens of residents and setting commercial vehicles ablaze.
The attacks occurred in Magama Mairake, Yargada and Maikogo in Maru and Gusau Local Government Areas, while another group invaded Bungudu, the headquarters of Bungudu Local Government Area.
In Magama Mairake, a resident who escaped the attack, Malam Ibrahim Magaji, said the gunmen stormed the community at about 1am in large numbers and opened fire before embarking on house-to-house searches.
Magaji said the attackers forced their way into several homes and abducted about 44 residents, mostly women and children, taking them towards a nearby forest.
He added that the gunmen also set more than 10 parked vehicles ablaze, including Canter trucks and other commercial vehicles belonging to residents.
An eyewitness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said police responded to a distress call but were unable to immediately confront the attackers because of their numbers and superior weapons.
“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,” the eyewitness said.
The attacks were reportedly carried out simultaneously in Yargada and Maikogo, both under the Magami district of Gusau Local Government Area, with an unspecified number of residents also abducted.
In a separate attack on Bungudu town on Sunday evening, the gunmen allegedly killed an unspecified number of people and abducted 11 others.
A resident said the attackers were allegedly attempting to re-abduct the Bungudu Local Government chairman, who had recently escaped from their enclave alongside four other people.
The Zamfara State Police Command confirmed the Bungudu attack and said it had received a report that 11 people were abducted.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said a Search and Rescue Squad had been deployed to secure the victims’ release.
He added that the same team was also deployed to Magama Mairake to rescue residents abducted there.
Abubakar said the command was still investigating the actual number of people abducted, noting that the figure could be lower than the number being reported by community members.
He said security operatives were also cordoning off the affected areas to prevent the attackers from moving the victims further into the bush.
“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,” he said.
The police did not disclose the number of casualties in the attacks, while efforts were ongoing to establish the identities and exact number of those abducted across the affected communities.
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