Bandits have killed seven members of a local vigilante group and abducted 38 residents in a midnight attack on Kaura Namoda town, Zamfara State. The attackers reportedly operated for more than three hours before withdrawing.
They entered the town through a riverine route in the early hours of Saturday. They struck the Kofar Zurmi and Old Market areas.
Chairman of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, Hon. Munnir Haidara, confirmed the deaths. The victims were members of the Joint Task Force (JTF), a local security outfit set up to protect communities. He said the council recruited residents into the group and armed them. Some members were injured and are receiving treatment in hospitals.
Haidara said the council has not yet confirmed how many people were abducted. “We are still gathering data,” he said, adding that the council hopes to get the exact figure by evening.
A resident, Bello Lauwali, said the bandits used an alternative route near the river to bypass local fortifications. Vigilantes usually kept positions on the town’s outskirts, where they built clay barricades to deter attacks. He said some stayed on duty until about 3am and fired warning shots from time to time.
According to Lauwali, the attackers blocked access routes and fought the JTF members in a long gun battle. Other security personnel found it hard to advance for fear of an ambush.
Another resident, Zayyanu Usman, linked the attack to the launch of President Bola Tinubu’s second-term campaign in Kaduna. He alleged that almost all security agencies, including vigilantes, were taken there. He said those left behind were mostly young boys, and the bandits took advantage.
Haidara rejected the claim. He said those who travelled in 10 vehicles provided for the trip were political supporters and stakeholders, not security operatives. He said he personally supervised their departure.
He also asked why the council would withdraw the people who protect residents to attend a political event.
A hunter who gave his name only as Dutse said the bandits suffered losses too. He claimed about 15 of them were killed and that their colleagues retrieved the bodies.
