Bandits abduct 55 in Zamfara after Katsina peace deal

Bandits abduct 55 in Zamfara after Katsina peace deal

Bandits yesterday abducted 43 worshippers from a mosque in Gidan Turbe village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

They were also said to have kidnapped 12 persons at Godai village, Bukkuyum Local Government Area of the state, on Sunday.

Both incidents occurred at a time community leaders and some armed groups in neighbouring Katsina State had entered into a peace deal.

Security experts said that to effectively address insecurity, state governments in the North West must collaborate against bandits in the zone.

The Zamfara mosque attack, Daily Trust gathered, occurred around 5.30am during prayer. The gunmen were said to have surrounded the mosque and whisked away 43 worshippers towards Gahori Mountain.

Gahori Mountain, in Tsafe Local Government Area, is situated in a thick forest that spreads from Zamfara through parts of Kebbi State and down to Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.

The forest is said to be an enclave of different bandits’ groups operating across Zamfara and parts of Sokoto and Kebbi states.

Locals alleged that almost all the famous bandit leaders, including Bello Turji, Ado Aliero, Dogo Gide, Dan Isuhu and Black, among others, have their enclaves around Gahori Mountain.

Residents, who spoke to Daily Trust yesterday, said the attack on the mosque had left several communities in Tsafe and environs in confusion and despair.

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A resident of Gidan Turbe, Habibu Dogo, said: “The bandits silently surrounded the mosques and patiently waited for the worshippers to finish prayers. Shortly after they finished, the bandits gathered all of them outside and later moved them out of the village.

“It appears the bandits kept their motorcycles afar because nobody in the village noticed their movements. After they abducted the worshippers, they moved them towards Gahori Mountain.

Auwal Isa, a resident of Tsafe, said the community and its environs had been witnessing renewed banditry attacks in recent days.

He said, “From Kucheri-Tsafe, a distance of about 10 kilometres has become a death trap due to persistent banditry activities.

“Several communities within this parameter have remained under constant attacks by the bandits in recent days. Hardly a day passes without a community or two being attacked.

“Residents of some communities around the Gahori Mountain have deserted their homes for fear of being attacked. Right now, even the communities that had agreements with bandits are not being spared.

“The bandits will enter an agreement with a village and collect their money, but later attack them on the slightest provocation. This is the problem we are facing in this part of Zamfara State.”

Bandits abduct 55 in Zamfara after Katsina peace deal

Daily Trust