Bandits have attacked Randa village in Dansadau Emirate of Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State, killing 11 people and abducting over 40 others.
The abducted are mostly women, nursing mothers, and children.
An eyewitness from Dansadau town told Channels Television that the bandits stormed the village in their large numbers on Tuesday night at about 11:00 p.m. and shot sporadically, forcing residents to scamper for safety
Seven of those killed were said to have been burnt when the house in which they were hiding was set ablaze, while four others were shot dead. According to the eyewitness, the local vigilante, known as ‘Yansakai,’ confronted the bandits in a gun duel, but the bandits overpowered them.
The latest attack came few days after bandits kidnapped 20 people, comprising 15 students, four staffers and a driver at the College of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Bakura.
During the attack on Sunday, two guards and a police officer were killed.
Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu said an investigation would be carried out.
In a similar, the Katsin State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of nine pupils of an Islamiyya School in Sakkai village of Faskari Local Government Area of the State.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, who confirmed the abduction of the pupils in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, said the pupils were abducted by the hoodlums last Tuesday.
Isah, who did not disclose the name of the school, explained that the pupils were kidnapped by the marauding bandits while returning home from the Islamic school after closing hours.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), after closing from school, some pupils while on their way going to their respective houses were abducted by bandits who went into Sakkai village.
“Nine of them (pupils) were abducted by the bandits but we are making frantic efforts with the view to rescuing them from the hand of the hoodlums. Effort is on top gear,” He said.
However, a resident of the village, Ibrahim Dan-baba, who also confirmed the abduction of the pupils to THISDAY, added that the bandits also kidnapped one of the school teachers.
He said the bandits stormed the school on motorcycles when the pupils were about to close for the day and started shooting indiscriminately, the development which, he said, caused a commotion in the school premises and in nearby communities.
“They (bandits) are yet to contact the family of the abducted pupils or the school management. In fact, the school is now closed and many people are running to Faskari town for fear of the unknown,” he said.
