Bandits Abduct 50 In Zamfara During Peace Talks

No fewer than 50 elderly residents of Magamin Diddi village in Magami/Faru ward of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State have been reportedly abducted by bandits while on a reconciliation mission.

Naija News learnt that the victims were whisked away by a bandit kingpin identified as Jammo, who is said to control Muntsira Forest in Maradun Local Government Area.

According to Daily Trust, the Chairman of Maradun Local Government Area, Bello Dosara, confirmed the incident, saying the victims went to meet the bandit leader without the approval or clearance of the government.

Dosara said the state government had consistently opposed any form of reconciliation with bandits, adding that Governor Dauda Lawal did not support such arrangements.

“We are against reconciliation with the bandits and Governor Dauda Lawal never supported that, but unknown to us the people chose to go on with it,” Dosara said.

Dosara said the bandit kingpin had earlier blocked the village’s access to the market, but noted that the council had been providing weekly security cover for residents to travel to the market and return safely.

He expressed concern that the residents still decided to approach the bandit leader despite the government’s opposition to negotiation with criminal groups.

“I wonder why, how they go and meet their rivals, they block access to the market and I support them with security every week,” he said.

The council chairman confirmed that 11 of the abducted persons had been released, while 39 others were still being held.

“He released some to just brief the people on the unfortunate incident,” Dosara added.

The Councillor representing Magami/Faru ward, Bello Husseini, said the bandit leader had earlier requested reconciliation after one of his men was killed during a recent military operation at Kandare village.

According to him, members of the affected communities accepted the request on their own, despite the state government’s policy against negotiation with bandits.

He said the communities sent a 50-man committee to meet the bandit leader, but Jammo allegedly betrayed them and abducted the delegation.

Husseini said 11 members of the delegation were later released, while the remaining 39 were still in captivity.

He added that the bandit leader was currently demanding ₦24m over three rifles allegedly seized during previous confrontations.

Husseini explained that Jammo and his men had previously clashed with the Zamfara State security outfit, Askarawa, during which two of the bandit leader’s associates were killed and their rifles seized.

He said the bandits later launched a reprisal attack during the last Ramadan period, killing two Askarawa personnel and taking away their rifles.

“You see we are one to one, they killed two of us and took away their rifles and we also killed them and possessed their firearms initially,” Husseini said.

The councillor said the latest reconciliation move was initiated by the bandit leader, who allegedly claimed that he was tired of banditry and wanted peace.

“We are against any form of reconciliation because we know they are not trustworthy, they can speak one true statement against a hundred lies,” he said.

“The people he held hostage were elderly and he had no reason to hold them hostage; he betrayed them by saying he is tired of banditry and opted for reconciliation,” Husseini added.

Officials Seek Military Action

Husseini, who said he had also relocated from his ward because of insecurity, insisted that reconciliation with bandits would not solve the security crisis in the area.

He and the council chairman called on the government and security agencies to launch operations in Dajin Natsira, which they described as a major bandit enclave.

According to them, the area has not experienced serious confrontation by security forces since the beginning of banditry in Zamfara State.

“They have never been attacked by any security forces and we are optimistic that if the government wants to help these people, one patrol five kilometres away from the village will yield a very good positive result,” they said.

They added that security operations in the forest would help restore peace to several local government areas, including Talata Mafara, Bakura, Anka, Gummi, Bukkuyum, Maru and Bungudu.

“Whenever the forest was bombed, six local government areas out of the 14 in the state such as Talata Mafara, Bakura, Anka, Gummi, Bukkuyum, Maru and Bungudu will definitely be peaceful,” they said.

The officials appealed to Governor Dauda Lawal and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to urgently intervene and rescue the remaining victims.

Husseini said Jammo was the overall leader of Dajin Natsira, which he said covers Bayan Ruwa, Kwargwaro, Aljumma Fulani, Gidan Dawa and Kyetare, although each area has its own local leader.