Gunmen kill 41 in Zamfara

Bandits have killed about 41 people at Birane village in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State. A resident of the area, Bello Muhammad Zurmi, said in a telephone interview with our correspondent that at about 5p.m. on Wednesday the gunmen ambushed a Cantar truck conveying over 20 people, slaughtered them and burnt their bodies inside the truck. Bello said the bandits invaded Birane market and started shooting indiscriminately at innocent people who were busy doing their business. According to him, some people were killed on the spot. It was learnt that the gunmen returned yesterday and more people, taking the total of victims to 41.

But the Zamfara State Police Command said 18 persons died in the fresh attack. This came as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) yesterday confirmed the killing of two of its officers at Wanger village in Kasseyo ward of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

Bello said it was a reprisal over the killing by vigilantes and local hunters in a joint operation of two bandits two weeks ago. According to him, the bandits had promised to retaliate. He said already the security operatives, comprising Mobile policemen and soldiers had been deployed in the area to protect lives and property.

Bello also said that the victims’ remains had been buried, according to Islamic rites. When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Muhammad Shehu, confirmed the incident.Shehu said it was a retaliation of the earlier killing of two bandits.
He said: “When the community received message from the bandits that they will soon attack them, no one informed security agencies. Unfortunately, the local hunters went to their hideout inside nearby bush and confronted the bandits. I can authoritatively confirm that many local hunters died while the majority of those who survived sustained serious injuries in the encounter.
“The command is yet to ascertain the exact number of those who lost their lives as report available to police indicated that many people were feared dead and many injured. “Already, the joint task operation of Anti-Cattle Rustling and Banditry popularly known as Operation Bush combined team has been deployed in the area to ensure restoration of peace.”
Shehu then called on the people to always give the police positive information about the criminals’ hideouts for proactive measures. In a statement issued on the attack, DSP Shehu said on February 13, hunters from Birani village of Zurmi local government area intercepted and accosted a herder in the bush with some suspected stolen cattle and sheep.

He said: “The herder abandoned the animals and escaped into the bush, but unknown to the hunters, the cattle rustler went to Isah Local Government Area of Sokoto State and mobilised bandits to attack the hunters. “On February 14, the bandits ambushed the hunters in the bush and there was a clash that led to fatality on both sides.

“Police/Military and other sister agencies reacted by combing the bush and its environs to salvage the situation and discovered 18 dead bodies. “It is believed that the bandits took away their own members that were killed. “Mobile policemen/Special forces and other security personnel from other sister security agencies have already been deployed to the area to restore peace and stability.”
The spokesman also said that the command’s Intelligence Unit had already embarked on investigation to arrest the perpetrators of the attack. The NSCDC said in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Corps (ASCI), Adakole John Peter, that the officers were killed last Sunday during an exchange of gunshots with Fulani herdsmen who attacked the village. Adakole gave the names of the officers as Adams Godwin and Abah Patrick.

He added that the late Adams joined the Corps on July 14, 2010 with the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Corps II (ASCII) and was later promoted to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Corps (ASCI) on January 1, 2014 and gained another promotion to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Corps (DSC) on January 1, 2017.
The NSCDC spokesman disclosed that Patrick who was recruited into the Corps on October 26, 2007 as a Lance Corporal and later promoted to the rank of Senior Corps Assistant on January 1, 2014, wrote his promotion examination on December 23, 2017 and was awaiting result of the examination before his demise. Peter added that the officers were not recruited in 2017 as reported in some sections of the media. He said: “It should be noted that NSCDC never recruited in 2016 or in 2017, and that the two officers killed were never in this category.”
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