Bandits’ attacks: Over 30 buried in Zamfara

Gbenro Adeoye with agency report

More than 30 persons were on Thursday buried in Bawan Daji village of Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State, following an attack by gunmen on the village.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the bandits attacked the area after some members of the community held a meeting to discuss measures to be taken against the bandits during the 2018 farming season.

The bandits had earlier threatened that there would be no farming activities in the area in this year’s rainy season.

The Deputy Imam of the village, who is also a community leader, Liman Umar, told journalists that the bandits had been harassing people in the area and brandishing sophisticated weapons without talking to anyone.

“It was shortly after our local vigilante members held the meeting on Tuesday that the bandits finally struck and killed only men, including those who tried to escape,” Umar said.

He said many bodies were found decomposing in the bushes, and that some of the corpses could not be brought into the village for a proper burial because people were afraid to go and get them as the bandits were believed to be hiding on the outskirts of the village.

He said one of the villagers, Danladi Shabalai, who was caught communicating with the bandits, was shot and killed by security men.

The Chairman of Anka Local Government, Alhaji Mustapha Gado, confirmed that 32 persons were buried, including a woman and her child. He said the mother and child died at a hospital in Gusau.

Gado said more bodies were still being searched for in the bushes and that security measures had been stepped up in the area, but that villagers had fled the area out of fear that the bandits might return.

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