- Defiant Emir of Zurmi returns to palace after escaping abduction twice as Army commander shot dead in Kankara
Terrorists in the Northwest region of Nigeria appear to be regrouping and launching attacks in Maradun and Zuru, both in Zamfara and also in Kankara Local Government Area (LGA) in Katsina over the last three days.
Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun LGA of Zamfara State, is the hometown of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammed Matawalle
Already, the Nigerian Army have in the last three weeks killed 31 terrorists in the North West region, recovered weapons but lost seven soldiers to terrorists’ ambushes.
The breakdown shows that the terrorists killed six soldiers, two of them officers in Shiroro LGA of Niger State, a North Central State which shares borders with North West States of Kaduna and Kebbi.
But the Nigerian Army have announced that its troops, in collaboration with a team from the Department of State Services (DSS), foiled terrorists attack in Sokoto State, killing seven of the terrorists.
A statement by the Army on it’s official X handle on Friday said troops responding to a distress call intercepted an armed terrorists’ group on rampage to wreak havoc in Modachi general area of Isa local government area of Sokoto State.
The statement said troops in the joint operation killed seven of the terrorists and the recovered significant cache of arms.
The terrorists, who were in transit with several motorbikes, were engaged by the security forces, leading to the elimination of seven terrorists.
The troops also recovered seven AK-47 rifles, four motorbikes, two mobile phones, and four machetes.
Sources confirmed that the terrorists attacked the Defence Minister’s Maradun town at about 2:00am on Friday and the onslaught lasted for about two hours; they were shooting sporadically and ransacking residents’ houses.
Although the actual number of the abducted persons was yet to be ascertained as of press time, the figure was put around 30, including women, children and adults given the number of homes affected.
Although the actual number of the abducted persons was yet to be ascertained as of press time, the figure was put around 30, including women, children and adults given the number of homes affected.
Speaking with Leadership newspaper, a traditional ruler, whose house was ransacked by the bandits, expressed dismay over the high level of insecurity in the town.
“It was to my hearing the bandits burgled my palour’s door, coming towards my inner room, I managed to hide while my wives and children followed another passage and ran away to hide somewhere,” he narrated.
The traditional ruler, who doesn’t want his name in print, expressed concern over the rampant attacks on the town, saying that last week Friday, a similar attack was carried out on the town, where cattle and sheep were rustled by the bandits.
A resident of the town, Hassan Ibrahim, lamented that the attack was terrible as bandits were stationed at different locations with sophisticated weapons.
“When I heard their movement close to my door, I crossed over to a nearby wall and ran for my dear life and luckily escaped but overheard them saying that we have all hidden,” he added.
He stressed the need for the Minister of State for Defence, who is the immediate past governor of Zamfara State, to intervene in the security situation of his country home to avert further attacks.
Written with additional reports from Leadership