Barely 24 hours after terrorists attacked Bakori-Funtua axis in Katsina state, the criminal elements struck again in Magama, Jibia local government area of the state, killing the Divisional Police Officer of the area, DSP Abdulkadir Rano, a soldier and one other visiting Almajiri who recently arrived in the community.
The terrorists were also said to have robbed one Alhaji Haliru of N2 million and abducted his wife in the course of the operation.
Blueprint gathered from the acting village head of the Magama community, the affected area that the well armed bandits, whose exact number could not be ascertained, started arriving the community in batches around 2:00 am Wednesday morning and cordoned all the area, laying ambush to forestall possible reprisal from security agents.
“The incident happened right at my doorstep. My neighbour notified me of the development about 2:10 am early hours of Wednesday. After a while, I could also hear gunshots. Then a little later, we kept hearing sounds of cars and motorcycles roaming the streets. We realised that they were using the vehicles to plant their men all over the area in case of a reprisal from security agents manning the area.
“The terrorists knocked at my door few times and left, did same at my next door neighbour but God saved us as they left without forcing themselves into our residents.
“However, they broke into Alhaji Haliru’s home, (aka ‘Mai Baki Mai’) and went away with his wife, Asiya and N2 million when they could not find him.
“I notified the police and they arrived immediately at the scene of the distress call but unfortunately, on citing DPO Abdulkadiri Rano, the hoodlums opened fire on him while trying to alight from his vehicle and killed him in the process. They also killed one soldier and injured Lieutenant Masoyi, who is currently receiving treatment at the Katsina Federal Medical Centre. One visiting Almajiri who just arrived the village recently was also killed in the attack,” the source said.
However, the village head said normalcy had returned to the community as the situation was brought under control by the security agents.
Efforts to speak with SP Gambo Isah, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state failed.
He, however, confirmed the attack on his official WhatsApp page, sharing the photo of the late DSP Rano and praying for his soul to rest in peace.
Similarly, the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Katsina 17 Brigade, Lieutenant Sinivie Tamuno could not be reached to confirm the identity of the affected soldiers in the attack as at the time of publishing this report.
Gunmen hit Southern Kaduna
Also, some gunmen suspected to be militias allegedly killed four people and razed Sabon Kaura village in Atyap Chiefdom, Zangon Kataf local government area of Kaduna state.
The attack reportedly took place Tuesday night.
While the state government was yet to react to the development, efforts by Blueprint to reach Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP Mohammed Jalige failed as he did not pick his call.
However, a resident, who did not want his name mentioned, said “virtually all the houses in the village were completely burnt by the attackers.
“The suspected militias came in their hundreds and carried out their plan. For now, four persons have been confirmed killed while many are missing. I cannot confirm those injured.”
“The entire village is in total confusion about what happened, there were only five security personnel present when the attackers invaded the area and, therefore, they could not contain them,” he further said.
Killing in Zamfara mosque
In a related development, a group of suspected terrorists attacked worshipers inside mosque Wednesday at Magazu in Tsafe local government area of the state, killing one Abubakar Muhammad popularly known as Abu Dogo during the attack.
In a telephone interview with Blueprint, a resident of the area identified as Malam Isma’il Magazu, said the terrorists attacked the mosque at around 5:40am of Wednesday.
“As I am talking to you now, the deceased Malam Abu Dogo has been buried according to Islamic right at around 11:00 am of today (Wednesday),” Magazu said.
He said the deceased was shot three times on his chest while performing the early morning prayer, which led to his death on the spot.
The resident also said one Malam Dahiru Ya’u was also kidnapped during attack where they demanded the sum of N10 million as ransom before he could be released.
“As I am talking to you now, the bandits communicated to us and demanded the sum of N10 million as ransom before they could release Malam Dahiru Ya’u who is in their den,” Magazu further said.
He appealed to both the Federal and Zamfara state governments to intensify efforts and deploy more security personnel to communities in the local government area for a quick return of peace.
“These bandits terrorised some communities under Tsafe local government area almost on daily basis, hence the need for proactive steps to provide security support to our area by the federal government to restore peace,” he also added.
Similarly, Blueprint reports that Funtua-Gusau highway for over two months has become a threat to commuters as a result of bandits’ activities.
However, efforts by one of our correspondents to reach the PPRO of the state command, SP Muhammad Shehu proved abortive at the time of filling the report.
5 rescued
Meanwhile, the Zamfara state Police Command carried out search and rescue operations across the state during which five (5) kidnapped victims were rescued.
The command’s image maker, SP Shehu who announced this Wednesday at a press conference, said the victims were abducted on 27th January and 3rd February 2022 respectively.
According to him, four of the victims hailed from Zuru local government area of Kebbi state but were abducted along Yankara – Tsafe road, while the other victim was abducted in Kontagora local government area of Niger state.
“All the victims were rescued during an extensive search and rescue operations conducted at Kunchin Kalgo forest in Tsafe LGA. The rescued victims have undergone medical treatment and have been debriefed by the Police,” Shehu said.
He said the Commissioner of Police, Hussaini Rabiu, sympathised with the victims for the suffering they passed through while in captivity.
The spokesman said the Police, in collaboration with other security agencies and state government, would continue to work assiduously to ensure the unconditional rescue of all kidnapped victims across the state.
The CP further called on members of the public to continue to support the security operatives in the ongoing operations against recalcitrant bandits and other criminal elements in the state.
