In a move to repel an attack on Tsafe town, in the Tsafe Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara, a senior commander of the state’s Community Protection Guard (CPG) was killed while 14 road construction workers were abducted by armed men.
The Commander of the state’s CPG, Aminu Sarki-Baura along with another official of the guard had reportedly joined soldiers to repel the incursion in Area 2, of the town when they were killed by the assailants on Monday night.
The armed men reportedly razed two operational vehicles belonging to the army and the state’s security guards.
They, subsequently, proceeded to the residence of construction workers to abduct them.
The state governor, Dauda Lawal while sympathising with the bereaved families, said that “The attempt by the terrorists to invade Tsafe was resisted by our joint security task force.
“I condole with the family of those who lost their lives in the attack. Especially the family of the late commander Aminu Sarkin Baura Tsafe, who lost his life in his resolve to protect his people. May his soul rest in peace.
“My administration remains committed to doing all that is needed to find a lasting solution to the problem, with the grace of God,” the governor wrote in the condolence greeting.”
On Sunday, no fewer than 11 people were killed and 20 abducted at the Gidan Zuma community of Bungudu Local Government Area of the state.
That same Sunday, troops of the Nigerian Army, in collaboration with local security intelligence in Zamfara, reportedly freed 137 schoolchildren of the Kuriga primary and secondary school, abducted from Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The military revealed that the armed men held the schoolchildren hostage in an enclave in Zamfara.
Zamfara is one of the hotbed states in the North West region, with no fewer than 111 incidents of kidnapping and 3,345 people abducted between 2019 and March 15, 2024.
As a region, no fewer than 361 cases of abductions, over 9,527 individuals kidnapped, and 592 fatalities were recorded within the period under review, SBM Intelligence, a security and risk assessment think tank reports.
The security organisation described the kidnap epidemic in Nigeria as a complex web of issues that have converged to create a breeding ground for criminal activity.
This led the president, Bola Tinubu to say that individuals involved in the kidnapping of innocent citizens must be treated as terrorists.