Nigeria Zamfara in Mourning: Residents Grieve as Banditry Claims Four Lives, Including Policemen, and Abducts 40 Persons

In the early hours of Tuesday, tragedy befell Kasuwa-Daji Town in Zamfara State as ruthless bandits, armed with sophisticated weaponry, unleashed terror, claiming the lives of two policemen, two residents, and leaving about forty individuals abducted in their wake.

Eyewitnesses recounted the horrifying events as the bandits stormed the town, firing indiscriminately to instill fear among the residents. Abubakar Kaura, a resident of Kaura-Namoda, described the invaders wielding advanced weapons, including an anti-aircraft gun.

The former State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Hamisu Kasuwar-Daji, became a primary target as the bandits attacked his residence. One of his wives and grandchildren were abducted in the process, underscoring the ruthlessness of the assailants.

The proximity of Kasuwar-Daji's house to a police station did not deter the bandits, who brazenly attacked the station, disarming the policemen on duty and tragically claiming the lives of two officers in the process.

A resident, speaking under the cloak of anonymity for security reasons, disclosed that the bandits' onslaught extended beyond law enforcement, resulting in the death of two additional townspeople. The marauders conducted a house-to-house raid, abducting around forty individuals in the process.

Yazid Abubakar, the spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, confirmed the harrowing incident, expressing the challenges in establishing the exact number of those abducted. He revealed that the Commissioner of Police had swiftly deployed additional troops to restore order and normalcy in the town.

Zamfara State, like others in the region, continues to grapple with the scourge of banditry, with criminals wreaking havoc on villages, causing loss of lives, and leaving homes in ruins. The sprawling forest spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states serves as a haven for these marauding gangs, notorious for mass kidnappings, including students from schools in recent years.

As the nation mourns the lives lost and anxiously awaits the fate of those abducted, the incident in Kasuwa-Daji serves as a stark reminder of the pressing need for enhanced security measures to curb the escalating wave of banditry in the region.