Bandits have killed seven vigilantes and abducted more than 30 residents in an attack on Kaura Namoda town, Zamfara State.
The attackers entered the town through a riverine route around midnight on Friday and operated for over three hours, striking Kofar Zurmi and Old Market areas.
Chairman of Kaura Namoda LGA, Hon. Munnir Haidara, confirmed the death of seven members of the Joint Task Force, JTF, saying the council recruited and armed them to protect communities. He said some others were injured and are receiving treatment.
On the number of abducted residents, he said verification was ongoing.
“We don’t have the actual number of people abducted. We are still gathering data, but we hope to get the exact figure between now and this evening,” Haidara said.
Residents however said the figure could be over 30. One resident said the bandits bypassed usual vigilante checkpoints by using the river route, where vigilantes normally mount clay fortifications and fire warning shots until about 3 a.m.
He said the gunmen blocked access routes and engaged the civilian JTF in a prolonged battle, while security operatives on the main road fired in the air but did not enter the scene for fear of ambush.
“The vigilantes were at a disadvantage because they only had pump-action and locally made guns,” he said.
Another resident said the attackers invaded the home of an Islamic teacher, killed a young boy and abducted some of his children.
There were claims that the community was left vulnerable because security personnel and vigilantes were moved to Kaduna for President Bola Tinubu’s second-term campaign launch.
“Almost all the security agencies, including the vigilantes, were transported to Kaduna. Those left behind were mostly young boys,” a resident alleged.
Haidara denied the allegation, insisting those transported were political supporters, not security operatives.
“I was the one who assigned the people transported in the 10 vehicles given to us to attend the campaign launch. Everybody taken to Kaduna was a frontline political supporter. We did not take any security personnel,” he said.
“We cannot take security personnel to a campaign launch when those people are responsible for protecting residents.”
