Gunmen on Wednesday afternoon shot dead a district head of Gada in Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Alhaji Umaru Bawan Allah, and five other members of the community.
it was learnt that about 100 hunded armed bandits around 1.00 pm on Wednesday stormed the community and started shooting sporadically. The bandits abducted many residents, including women and children.
They also reportedly razed many houses, including the District Head’s palace and his two vehicles.
According to Kaduna State Polytechnic lecturer, Alhaji Shittu Otman, who is a resident of the community, the bandits went from house to house, checked, picked and identified targets and killed six of them.
He said: “They came this afternoon around 1.00pm and began to check houses and shot whoever they saw.
“Many residents ran into the bush, while several others sustained gunshot injuries. They abducted several others, including women.
“However, with the combined efforts of the local vigilantes and the security operatives, some of the abducted residents were rescued.
“The armed men were intercepted at a spot near Karakkai community. The security operatives mobilised and the local vigilante helped to block their passage.
“After a heavy gunfight, the armed criminals abandoned some of the abducted victims, while they fled with others.”
Another indigene of the town, Makau Mohammed, said: “The bandits came to the town around 11 pm on Tuesday night and blocked all the roads leading to the town then started shooting sporadically.
“The bandits entered into the town, while other bandits stood by the roadsides to ensure that nobody escaped.
“They spent several hours in the town, where they searched many houses, took away several items including foodstuffs and money and also abducted many people.
“The District Head was killed in the process because of his refusal to comply with the bandits’ directives.
“He (the District Head) was shot dead by the bandits because he resisted the attempt to abduct him.
“When bandits realized that, the District Head was not ready to go with them to their den, they shot him multiple times until he died.
“They later set his palace on fire where several items including his two vehicles were burnt down. Many houses that were close to the District Head’s palace were also affected by the inferno.
Meanwhile, the State Police Command, through its spokesperson, Muhammad Shehu, said it had already deployed its tactical team to the town
Shehu said police men were currently on the trail of the fleeing bandits, adding that nine kidnapped victims were rescued by the tactical team.
