Fulani militia kill nine, abduct 53 in Zamfara

Fulani herdsmen in large numbers have again killed nine people and abducted 27 others in Makera village of Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

An indigene of the area, Mohammed Garba, told PUNCH Online on the phone that the bandits invaded the village around 9pm on Monday while they were shooting indiscriminately to scare away residents.

According to Garba, the bandits were in the village for several hours where they searched from house to house and abducted 53 people.

He stressed that nine people who tried to escape the abduction were killed on the spot.

He said, “We were about to go to bed when the bandits entered into our village and began to shoot indiscriminately as a result of which, many people escaped to the forest.

“Others who did not run to the forest hid in their houses but unfortunately, the bandits went from house to house and abducted 53 people according to the head count we conducted.

“Similarly, the bandits also shot to death, nine people who wanted to run away or who refused to be abducted.”

Garba maintained that his four children were among those abducted by the bandits.

He said that the bandits have yet to reach out to the community for ransom.

He expressed disgust over the issue, calling on the state government to do something urgent to protect the lives and property of the people of the area.

According to him, residents of the community were trying their best to protect themselves, lamenting that, the bandits came to the village in large numbers.

He said, “We were overpowered by the bandits who were in large numbers.

“We tried our best to chase away the bandits but because they came in hundreds, we were not able to defeat them.”

The spokesperson for the state police command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, could not be reached for comment at the time of filling in this report.