Twelve members of the same family have died after armed bandits set their residence ablaze during an attack on Gidan Taba village in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Seven other residents were abducted in the attack, which occurred on Saturday night in Dosara Birnin Kaya Ward.
The incident happened barely a week after bandits ambushed security personnel at Gidan Kano, along the Gusau-Sokoto highway, killing five policemen.
A resident told Daily Trust that the attackers invaded the residence of Mallam Muhammadu Sani at about 10pm.
According to the resident, 13 members of the family locked themselves in a room to avoid abduction. Those inside included Sani, his two wives and six children, as well as the wife of his younger brother and their three children.
The attackers reportedly ordered them to open the door. When they refused, the bandits set the room ablaze. Only the wife of Sani’s younger brother escaped, while the remaining 12 occupants died after being exposed to the intense heat and fire.
The resident said the community alerted the Maradun Local Government Chairman, Sanusi Ahmed Dosara, who contacted security formations for assistance. However, no security personnel arrived before the attack was completed.
He said the village was about 1.5 kilometres from the local government headquarters, where military and police formations are located.
Another resident confirmed that seven people were abducted and remained in the custody of the bandits at the time of filing this report. He also disputed reports that police personnel had been deployed to the village, saying officers only visited to obtain information about the incident.
Dosara, who led the funeral prayers for the victims on Sunday, described the attack as “heartbreaking and disheartening”. “A father, his wives and small children—12 of them—were all killed by fire,” he said.
The chairman explained that the victims died from the intense heat after the bandits set the room ablaze, rather than being directly burnt by the flames.
He confirmed that some residents were abducted but said local vigilantes engaged the attackers and secured the release of some captives. He added that it was initially difficult to determine the exact number of abductees because of the tension in the community.
According to Dosara, the attackers fired shots in different directions to confuse security personnel and conceal their actual positions.
The Zamfara State Police Command confirmed the attack but put the death toll at 11.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said the victims were trapped in the room by the attackers. He described Sani as an active member of the community’s vigilante group who had contributed to efforts to prevent bandit attacks.
“The head of the family is one of the strongest vigilantes who was blocking bandits from attacking the community,” Abubakar said.
He added that the police had deployed a reinforcement team to protect the community.
Over 100 killed in six months
The Gidan Taba attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents recorded in Maradun and other parts of Zamfara State in the past six months.
On November 2, five police officers were killed when security personnel travelling to provide security for the APC senatorial rerun primary were ambushed along the Gidan Kano-Gidan Giye axis around Maradun and Tsafe local government areas.
Other major attacks recorded during the period include the killing of at least 20 people in an ambush on a traders’ convoy in Bukkuyum on October 10, and the reported killing of 14 soldiers and mobile police officers during an attack on a military base in Bindin Ward, Maru, on October 5.
On August 25, at least eight travellers were killed and eight others abducted along the Gusau-Funtua highway in Tsafe. In July, at least 24 farmers were killed in an attack on Sauna district in Talata Mafara.
An assessment by the International Organisation for Migration documented 14 deaths, 88 injuries and the displacement of 14,727 people from several communities in Gummi Local Government Area in August.
Earlier in June, at least 17 farmers were killed and 13 injured in an attack on Goran Namaye in Maradun. A separate peace initiative involving community elders also ended in the abduction of about 39 people.
The attacks have affected communities across Gusau, Anka, Maru, Talata Mafara, Tsafe, Maradun, Gumi, Bungudu, Bakura and Bukkuyum local government areas.
Travellers, farmers, traditional rulers, security personnel and religious leaders have been among those killed, injured or abducted.
Credit: Daily Trust
Leave a Reply