Bandits have killed at least 13 people in three communities in the Dansadau Emirate of Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The attacks followed a reprisal by the bandits after local vigilantes reportedly killed a notorious bandit kingpin and some of his associates.
A resident of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, called for urgent measures to address the insecurity, according to media reports.
He said the bandits suspected the three villages of conniving with local vigilantes to kill the kingpin and some of his men.
“What transpired is that the bandits suspected the three villages of conniving with the local vigilantes, who killed the bandits’ kingpin and his boys,” he said.
According to him, “There is a serious enmity between the vigilantes and the bandits, with each group trying to kill the other. The bandits banned the communities from farming completely for the last two years,” he said.
The three affected villages are Dandallah, Tudu Gabas and Unguwar Majidadi.
The resident said local vigilantes had killed a notorious bandit kingpin and several of his lieutenants before taking away their rifles.
He further said the bandits later accused the three villages of backing and equipping the vigilantes to execute the operation.
“The bandits said it was not possible for the boys to kill their colleagues without the support of the elders of the villages.
“They killed nine people in Dandallah Village and injured others. Two people were killed in Unguwar Sarkin Village and one or two in Tudun Gabas,” he said.
Another resident, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 80 to 90 per cent of residents in the affected villages had escaped to Dansadau town.
“Eighty to 90 per cent of the people of the three villages fled to Dansadau. Women and children were all over, and our people provided them with food and shelter,” he said.
Another resident said the bandits had also attacked Dangurgu village, forcing residents to flee the community.
Asked about the presence of security forces in the area, the resident said the affected villages had become inaccessible to security personnel.
Another resident of Dansadau, who also pleaded anonymity for security reasons, said bandits had continued to operate freely in the villages and use routes in the area to terrorise residents of Dansadau and neighbouring communities.
“Dandallah, Gobirawa and Madada were dominated by the bandits, and the people were just living in the villages because they had no option. But the bandits subjected them to slavery for years as there was no presence of security agencies,” he said.
He also confirmed that the bodies of 10 people killed in Dandallah, Madadah and Gobirawar Kwacha had been recovered.
When contacted, the Zamfara State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said he would make inquiries about the incident and get back to our correspondent.
“I will inquire about it and feed you back,” DSP Yazid said, but has not done so as at the time of filing this report.
