Bandits strike again in Zamfara, abduct 80 children

NO fewer than 80 children were reportedly abducted by bandits in Tsafe Local Government Area, Zamfara State on Friday, April 7.

According to BBC Hausa, some of the children, who are between the ages of 12 and 17, were kidnapped in the bush.

The children, according to the parents who spoke with BBC Hausa, were reportedly fetching firewood at about 8:00 a.m. when the assailants rounded them up and marched them away into the forest.

The abductors, however, are yet to reach the parents to make any demands as of the time BBC reported the kidnap.

This is not the first case of abduction and kidnapping in Zamfara, as bandits incessantly rampaged several communities in the state.

In 2019, armed bandits attacked the Government Girls Secondary School, Moriki, in Zurü local government area of Zamfara State, kidnapping several students and teachers.

This attack was the second when hoodlums would be attacking a secondary school and abducting students in President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term in office, in spite of the administration’s claim of having improved security across the country, according to the report.

The first was in February 2018 when 110 school girls were abducted by Boko Haram from their school dormitory in Dapchi, Yobe State. Some of the girls, numbering 104, were released a month later following negotiations between the government and Boko Haram.

However, five died in custody while one, Leah Sharibu, is still been held because she refused to convert to Islam.

There were many other cases of bandits’ attacks in the state that have claimed several lives. Despite the security operatives repelling some of the attacks, the terrorists have managed to record many feats in the state.

For instance, in February 2022, the terrorist group attacked Tsafe LGA of the state, killing 17 civilians.

Also, Aljazeera reported that an estimated 200 people were killed and 10,000 displaced in attacks by armed bandits in the northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara following military air raids on their hideouts in January 2022.

BBC also reported in November 2022 that 130 people were kidnapped by gunmen in Zamfara, a local official.

According to the report, the state information commissioner Ibrahim Dosara, disclosed to the British media that Gunmen on motorcycles raided two areas and abducted women, children and the elderly.

Recently, On March 4, 2023, The ICIR reported how the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of a division in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State Kazeem Raheem, a sergeant and one vigilante were killed by bandits during an attack at the headquarters of the local government area.

It was gathered that on receiving news of the attack, the DPO, Kazeem Raheem, mobilised his men and some local vigilantes to protect the residents against the bandits

The DPO, a sergeant identified as Rabiu Bagobiri and a vigilante identified as Shehu Chuka, were killed during the counter-offensive.

Author profile

Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M