Bandits have attacked Tsafe town, headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, and abducted five residents, including women, in a midnight attack.
A resident of Tsafe, who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said the bandits stormed the town around 1am and opened fire sporadically in the heart of the town.
“They stormed the heart of the town last night and attacked two houses,” he said.
The resident said he was alerted to the attack by a friend and a neighbour who called to ask whether he could hear the sporadic shooting.
“I was sleeping when a friend of mine and a neighbour called me and said, ‘Are you hearing what’s happening? They are shooting sporadically.’ I replied that, yes, I could hear it. Then, after a while, it rained,” he said.
He said he later discovered that the bandits had entered the house of Lamidi, a Yoruba man and father of the former Chief of Staff to Senator Abdul’aziz Yari Abubakar, where they abducted two women.
According to him, the bandits later moved to the house of Nura Sani, Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters to Governor Dauda Lawal, but were unsuccessful.
Another resident, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the town had been under a curfew that starts from 10pm following a similar incident last week.
He said the two areas attacked by the bandits lacked local vigilantes and security checkpoints, unlike other parts of Tsafe town.
“Low-cost and Nomau areas have no security checkpoints, and both areas have the same entrance up to Nipost, while the local vigilantes are on constant patrol,” he said.
The Chairman of Tsafe Local Government Area, Hon. Garba Shehu Fanchas, confirmed the attack and the abduction of five people.
“Yes, the bandits attacked Tsafe last night around 1am,” the chairman said.
He commended the efforts of security agencies and local vigilantes in confronting the bandits.
“Our security personnel and the local vigilantes have tried their best and they showed sacrifice,” Fanchas said.
He further said that before the attack, security personnel and local vigilantes had blocked all entrances into Tsafe town, but the bandits managed to sneak into the town through an unexpected route and reached the heart of the town.
“We blocked all the entrances, but unexpectedly, the bandits used another entrance that we had never expected. We just discovered that they were in the heart of the town and we heard sporadic shooting,” the chairman said.
Fanchas also confirmed the abduction of five people but said no life was lost in the attack.
“The army and the state security outfit, Askarawa, engaged the bandits, forcing them to flee. But we are yet to confirm any casualties from the bandits. And as you know, they don’t usually leave their dead bodies,” he said.
The chairman called for the deployment of more security personnel to ensure the safety of Tsafe town and surrounding communities.
“We need more security personnel deployment,” he pleaded.
Credit to our Media Partner DailyTrust .
