Zamfara attack: 5 women escape as 5 men killed by bandits buried

Five women, including a nursing mother and her 6-month-old baby that were abducted in Dan Isa village, Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State, have escaped from their captors, Daily Trust learnt.

The secretary of the Ward Head of Dan Isa Village, Malam Hassan Isa, who confirmed the development yesterday, said they all returned to the village on Monday.

Daily Trust had on Tuesday reported that many villages in the LGA were attacked by bandits.

Hassan, popularly known as Yarima, said: “Those that escaped from the bandits are Na’imah Bashar and her baby, Sudais Bashar, Safiya Isau, Inno Lawal Mai Roba, Samira and the wife of one Alhaji Mukhtar Sani.

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Yarima, however, said the number of those that have been killed has risen to five as an additional corpse was found in the bush.

He said: “We first recovered the lifeless bodies of Sabi’u Daudu, Haruna Akyarkyara, Abdulmutallib Rabi’u and Bashar Idris in the early hours of Monday, and later in the evening, we discovered that of Zaharaddeen Aliyu.

“So far, a total of 99 people have been confirmed to be abducted on Sunday, but we are still compiling our list because the attack was launched on different villages.

“This is the third time the bandits are attacking villages in this areas in recent days. They attacked a neighbouring village, Maguru, on Monday, July 8, 2024.  They attacked Dogon Kade on Saturday, July 13, 2024; and the following day, Sunday, July 14, they attacked Dan Isa village.

“On Monday, July 15, the bandits came and shot one person and he is currently receiving treatment at Kaura Namoda General Hospital. They returned and rustled animals, looted foodstuffs and abducted people including women and children. This is the worst attack we have ever witnessed in the history of this village.

“Following the attack, not a single woman sleeps in our village. Only members of the vigilante group and some men spent the night in the village, while the rest fled their homes for safety.”

On what the current situation is in the village, Yarima said: “I swear to Allah, presently, we do not have food to eat in the village. We are lucky this morning (yesterday), one of us that is residing in Lagos donated 100 loaves of bread to us which we shared among the few people that have returned to the village.”

Another resident of the village, names withheld, said the lifeless bodies of the slain victims of the attack were buried on Monday, July 15.

“We have to seek for protection from the personnel of Zamfara State owned security outfit, Askarawa and the local vigilante group to conduct the burial.

 “Several other people have sustained various degrees of injuries during the unfortunate attack. Yakubu Yahuza, Abdulsalam Yusuf, Shafi’i Yahuza Babbar Ruga, Zahra’u Sani and Kabiru Umar were all injured during the attack. Zahra’u is a pregnant woman and she sustained a fracture in her leg.”

How I escaped – Nursing mother

Recounting her ordeal, Na’imah, who escaped together with her son, told the Daily Trust on phone that she managed to jump from a moving motorbike that was carrying her from Dan Isa village.

She said: “We were beaten up by the bandits as they dragged us to mount the motorbikes. Two abducted men sustained gunshot wounds; one was brushed by a bullet in the head and the other wounded in the stomach.

“I am very grateful to God; this is the only thing I can say. It was by his Grace that I escaped,” she added.

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawan on Broadcast Media, Alhaji Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, confirmed the attack, and lamented how such attacks have persisted in the state despite efforts by the state government to curtail banditry.

“Sincerely speaking, the Zamfara State government is doing its best and people are also doing their best in protecting themselves, but the issue is that most of the time the bandits out-number the occupants of the villages they attack.

“The security agencies have to sit up and discharge their responsibilities. The Zamfara State government is providing them with their needs and yet, the banditry attacks persist, especially in the rural areas.

“So, the security personnel deployed to the rural areas must align with their responsibilities to protect the villagers,” he said.

He recalled that the state government had introduced some modalities aimed at improving security in the state, yet the banditry has continued.

“For instance, the state government, based on the security agencies’ recommendations, banned movements of motorcycles across the state from 8pm-6am, effective from Monday, July 15, 2024 with a view to curtailing banditry attacks especially during the night hours. This is because the bandits are largely using motorbikes in their operations.

“Previously, the government had imposed curfew on its borders with Katsina and Sokoto states, and this greatly reduced kidnapping along the Funtua-Gusau and Gusau-Sokoto highways.

“The state government also banned the sale of petrol by hawkers across the state because it is through the hawkers that the bandits are getting their supplies of the product.”

Kaura, who sympathized with victims of the recent attacks, appealed to the general public to always report suspicious movements of people around them to the appropriate authorities for appropriate action.