Bandit Attacks Kill Dozens of Security Personnel and Civilians Across Zamfara in One Week
At least 20 security personnel and civilians were reportedly killed in Zamfara State on Sunday. Bandits ambushed traders in Bukkuyum. It was the latest in a week of deadly attacks across several local government areas.
Armed groups also struck in Maru, Gusau and Bungudu. Residents say the violence has left communities frightened and livelihoods in ruins.
Ambush on the Way to Gurusu Market
The Sunday attack happened in Bukkuyum Local Government Area. Traders were travelling from Gwashi district to the Gurusu market when bandits opened fire.
One resident said 12 civilians and eight security personnel died. Several others were injured. He listed the dead personnel as five soldiers, two mobile police officers and one Civil Defence officer.
Other accounts differ. Another source put the number of dead security personnel at nine.
The attack shut down activity at the Sunday market. Traders and residents are now afraid.
One resident praised the bravery of the troops but asked for better equipment. He called for armoured vehicles on the Anka-Bukkuyum axis. In his view, soldiers in open pickup vans cannot match attackers with heavier weapons.
Vehicles Burnt on the Dansadau Road
A day earlier, bandits ambushed travellers heading to Dansadau in Maru Local Government Area. A resident said they set about 12 vehicles on fire.
The attack came a day after soldiers found explosive devices on the same road. The resident said travellers took the discovery as a sign the route had been cleared. They resumed their journey.
The convoy was hit at a stretch where road construction had not started. Passengers fled their vehicles. Some were killed, and others escaped.
Hundreds of commuters had earlier been stranded at Magamin Maitarko for more than eight days. A trader, Muhammad Salisu Dansadau, said tomatoes, pepper and livestock spoiled during the delay. He added that some travellers fell ill, while others resorted to begging.
He thanked the people of Magamin Maitarko for feeding and sheltering the stranded. Their supplies, he said, have now run out.
Vigilantes Killed Near Gusau
Also on Saturday, bandits killed three members of the local vigilante group Askarawa in Damba district, on the outskirts of Gusau. A fourth person also died, and another vigilante was shot and wounded.
The attack took place in Kaikaiche village, near Karazau. A resident said the group had gone to harvest rice the day before and returned safely. The attackers then waited in ambush when the vigilantes went back.
The resident suspects informants tipped off the gunmen. Residents searched for a missing victim for a day and a night. His body was later found near Yandoto.
Soldiers and Police Reportedly Killed in Bungudu
Residents of Bindin village in Bungudu Local Government Area also reported a deadly attack last Wednesday. They claim bandits hit a mining site and a nearby military camp. They say nine soldiers and three mobile police officers died.
A resident blamed the bandit leader Gwaska Dankarami. According to him, the attack was revenge. Miners had resisted one of Dankarami’s men who tried to enforce the group’s rules at the site. The miners reportedly killed him.
Dankarami and his fighters then attacked the site, the resident alleged. People ran to Bindin for safety, and the bandits followed them.
The full toll is still unknown. The resident said bodies are still being found in the mining pits and nearby bush.
He also recalled an earlier attack on the same camp last year, in which two or three soldiers were reportedly killed. Residents now fear a rumoured plan to move the base from Bindin to Dangulbi.
The Zamfara State Police spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, could not be reached for comment. The same was true of Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja, the Acting Army Information Officer at 8 Division headquarters in Gusau.
Military Response
Troops of Operation Fansan Yamma have continued their operations. The military says they have killed some armed group members and rescued dozens of kidnap victims. The Army also recently activated three new infantry battalions in the state.
On the Magami-Hannutara-Dansadau road in Maru, troops acted on intelligence about planted explosives. A statement from the task force said they found devices at two locations. They destroyed one and made the other safe.
The military urged the public to stay alert and report suspicious objects quickly.
State Government Pledges Support
Zamfara State marked its 30th anniversary last week. At a briefing, the Secretary to the State Government, Malam Abubakar Nakwada, said years of banditry and kidnapping had disrupted rural life.
He described security as the base of the government’s transformation agenda. According to him, the state keeps supplying vehicles, armoured platforms, drones and motorcycles to the Armed Forces, police, DSS and Civil Defence.
He added that the government set up the Community Protection Guards. They support other agencies with local intelligence, early warnings and knowledge of the terrain.
Nakwada admitted that the security challenge is not over. He pledged continued support until communities are safe and livelihoods return.
