Bandits release Zamfara college provost, attack communities

The Provost of Zamfara State College of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Bakura Burkullu, and two other persons have regained their freedom four days after they were kidnapped.

The three were kidnapped at Government Science Secondary School, Bakura and a nearby community.

A member of the family of the provost, Ibrahim Bello, told this reporter that they were released Wednesday night and taken to General Hospital, Bakura for medical check-up.

Another source, Hamza Bakura, said N3 million was paid as ransom before they were released.

“The boy’s father is my friend and he paid one million Naira. The provost’s family and friends paid N1.5 million while the family of the other teacher, Malam Kabiru, paid N5,000,000. This I can authoritatively confirm,” he said.

In related development, gunmen on Wednesday attacked Dauran town in Zurmi local government area of Zamfara, killing two people.

Several animals were also rustled by the bandits during the night attack.

A resident of the town, Surajo Dan Dauran, said the “bandits came on several motorcycles around 11:45 p.m. I was outside my house because there was no light and I saw the motorcycles going into the inner parts of the town before they started shooting sporadically.”

He said two people were shot and taken to the hospital where they died, noting that several domestic animals were also rustled.

The state police command has not released a statement on the attacks.