Again, gunmen kill 25 in Zamfara villages

Suspected armed bandits have killed at least 25 persons in
attacks on two villages in Birnin Magaji local government area of
Zamfara state, Daily Trust report.

Residents said on Wednesday afternoon, a motor-bike riding gang
of armed men opened fire on locals harvesting sweet potatoes on
their farm at Garin Halilu village killing nine on the spot.

Thereafter around 5:00pm the gunmen returned to the community
when the bodies of the slain farmers were being prepared for
burials and shot three residents dead again.

“They then proceeded to neighbouring Gidan Kaka village and shot
dead nine persons there. And the remaining four persons killed were
from Nasarawa Gödel village who went to offer help to those under
attack at Gidan Haliliu,” A resident Tukur Gödel told Daily
Trust.

However, the spokesman of the state police command, SP Muhammad
Shehu, gave the figures of those killed as five and said normalcy
had been restored after the attack by the unidentified armed
bandits.

“The Zamfara State Police Command wishes to confirm that on
19/12/2018 at about 1505hrs, a group of armed bandits attacked some
villagers of Gidan Halilu Village in Billashe district of Birnin
Magaji LGA on their farms.

“On receipt of the report, combined teams of PMF/CTU and
conventional police personnel headed by the Area Commander Kauran
Namoda mobilized to the affected village to repel the attack,
restore normalcy and arrest the perpetrators.

“On getting to the scene, five corpses were recovered with one
other person injured. The corpses were taken to hospital in Birnin
Magaji, while the injured person was admitted for treatment. The
scene and its environs have been subjected to extensive bush
combing with a view to prevent further attack,” the PPRO added.

Shehu further said that fear reduction and confidence building
patrols/stop and search were ongoing and the command would like to
use the opportunity to appeal to members of the public to remain
vigilant and report any suspicious movement to the nearest police
station for prompt action.

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