At least seven persons were killed during the weekend by gunmen suspected to be bandits in Gudashi village, Dankurmi district in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
According to reliable sources, it was gathered that the armed men arrived at the community on motorbikes and unleashed terror on the defenceless residents.
The bandits also abducted nine villagers and rustled several cows.
Many residents have reportedly deserted the community because they are afraid that more attacks may come.
Over the months, suspected bandits have continually attacked Zamfara communities, killing scores and abducting people for ransoms despite a peace agreement with the state government.
About 15 brand new Hilux vehicles and millions of naira were given to leaders of different ‘repentant’ bandit groups by Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle as part of the agreement, a senior military officer told our source.
He said the gunmen now carry out attacks with some of these vehicles given to them by Matawalle.
The officer said, “Those bandits have different groups, so if they say they repent, the governor will give them a Hilux vehicle but unfortunately they are now using the vehicles to carry out attacks.
“It’s so sad, he called it peace and reconciliation programme, but all you need to be rich now in Zamfara is to take up arms against the people.”
A committee set up to investigate the menace of armed banditry in the region, headed by Mohammed Abubakar, a former Inspector General of Police, reported that in Zamfara State between June 2011 and May 2019, 4,983 women were widowed; 25,050 children were orphaned, and more than 190,000 people were displaced as a result of armed banditry.
