Bandits have attacked two farming communities in Zamfara State where they killed at least 30 farmers, including a respected Islamic cleric.
And elsewhere in Plateau, two herders and over 200 cattle were killed.
Police Spokesman in Zamfara, ASP Yazid Abu Abubakar, confirmed the attacks on two local government areas of the state, but said details would be given later.
Sources told one of our correspondents that the incidents in Zamfara State happened on Thursday.
An online platform, PR Nigeria, had reported that the attacks occurred in Maradun and Tsafe local government areas.
One of our sources said that Mallam Makwashi Maradun Mai Jan Baki, a renowned Islamic cleric and another person were killed in Maradun town.
Two of the cleric’s children are still missing after the attack.
It was learnt that three other persons were killed by the bandits in Gidangoga village, while residents of the village killed 24 bandits and recovered eight of their motorbikes.
A resident of Maradun said: “We engaged the bandits very well. Attacks are becoming consistent in Maradun area these days. They happen almost every day. Many communities in the local government have been vacated for fear of reprisal.”
PR Nigeria also reported that the bandits targeted Bilbis village in Tsafe LGA, leaving 20 civilians dead.
Local sources reported that the farmers were attacked while clearing their fields and the bandits showed no mercy.
It was also gathered that a district head, Alhaji Murtala Ruwan Bado, of Garbadu in Talata Mafara Emirate, also narrowly escaped a bandit attack in the evening of the same day along Mayananchi road.
2 herders, 200 cattle killed in fresh Plateau attack
In Plateau, our correspondent reports that two herders and over 200 cattle were killed by gunmen in another string of attacks in Kwal District of Bassa Local Government Area.
According to the leadership of the Fulani in the state, over 100 cattle were also rustled during incident.
The state chairmen of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN), Nura Abdullahi and Garba Abdullahi, respectively, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust yesterday.
Narrating the incident, the GAFDAN chairman said: “The herders were tending to their cattle around 9am of Wednesday when some gunmen appeared and started shooting.
“They shot two herders dead. They also shot over 200 cattle. We are yet to ascertain the full extent of the damage because the incident occurred in a remote area that is difficult to access without security operatives. We have suffered a significant loss.
“It is high time for security agencies to take action against the atrocities being committed against our people. Whenever we are attacked, security agencies always ask us to remain calm. This is an attempt to annihilate us, as it was an unprovoked attack. We are calling on security agencies to come to our aid,” Garba said.
When contacted, the spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven, which is maintaining peace in the state, Major Samson Zhakom, did not respond to the inquiry on the incident as at the time of filing this report. Our correspondent reports that gory pictures of the cattle killed have surfaced.
9 students abducted in Kogi varsity
In another incident, the Kogi State Government yesterday said nine students of the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara in Adavi Local Government Area of the state have been reported missing, following a late night attack on the institution on Thursday by yet to be identified gunmen.
Daily Trust correspondent reports that the students were in their lecture rooms for tutorials ahead of their first semester examinations scheduled to commence on Monday, May 13, when the gunmen stormed the campus around 9pm and abducted some of them.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said they have put the necessary machinery in motion to ensure that the kidnapped students were brought back unhurt.
“We wish to assure students, parents and the entire people of Kogi State that the government is on top of the situation and all the abducted students will be rescued alive.
“The state government will spare nothing in ensuring that all the students abducted are safely rescued and reunited with their families,” the commissioner said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Abdulrahaman Asipita Salawu, said the governor directed that school will remain in session, despite the ugly incident.
“We do understand the present anxiety that this has generated; based on this, parents who want their wards out of the campus can go ahead with such a decision as lectures and examinations are kept on hold for now till further notice.
“We are assuring parents and guardians who will want their children to remain on campus not to fret over their safety as the situation is under control at the moment,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Bethrand C. Onuoha has said that their men have been deployed to ensure safe rescue of the abducted students.
“We have deployed tactical teams, comprising of the Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism, Quick Response Unit, Intelligence Units, and Anti-Kidnapping to work in synergy with the military, DSS, local vigilante, hunters in trailing the hoodlums with a view to rescuing the victims and arresting the perpetrators,” he said.
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