Zamfara govt speaks as bandits attack village, kill 17 Nigerians

No fewer than 17 people were on Saturday killed by bandits in Magami Village, Faru District of Maradun Local Government Area, Zamfara state.

Zamfara police spokesperson, Muhammed Shehu, in a statement, confirmed that the attack occurred on Saturday at about 4 p.m.

He said more police officers have been deployed to the area, even as the Acting Governor of Zamfara State, Sanusi Rikiji; the police commissioner and other heads of security agencies were at the scene in the early hours of Sunday.

The officials were there “for on the spot assessment with a view to putting in more proactive security measures that will bring lasting solutions to the security challenges in the area and other parts of the state,” he said.

Rikiji also on Sunday attended the funeral prayer for some of the victims killed by the bandits.

Mr Rikiji, who is the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, condoled with the families of the victims and people of Maradun Emirate and described the incident as unfortunate and worrisome.

He said the state government was concerned about security matters.

“It is very disturbing, so distracting the way our people are being killed by terrorists.

“More often than not, we could not even concentrate and face our work, due to pressures of insecurity in our communities,” NAN quotes the acting governor as saying.

He urged security operatives in the state to maximise their efforts in tackling the challenges.

Rikiji noted that the state government had been providing all necessary support to security agencies in the state.

“We are ever ready to continue to offer any support to security agencies, at whatever cost, in order to address the current security situation in the state,” he added.

He urged people of the state to continue with prayers to seek Allah’s interventions to end the situation.

The acting governor also appealed to communities to provide information on security to security agencies for prompt response.

The heads of security agencies in the state were also in attendance during the prayers.

In their separate remarks, the Emir of Maradun, Garba Tambari, and Chairman Maradun Local Government Area, Yahaya Shehu, called for the deployment of more security personnel in the area.

Hundreds of people have been killed by armed bandits in Zamfara in 2018 despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel including soldiers as well as air force personnel and equipment to the state.