Some suspected terrorists, in the wee hours of Tuesday, invaded Samaru area of Gusau, the Zamfara state capital, and kidnapped many worshipers while performing Tahajjud (midnight) prayers.
A resident of the area, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the criminal elements stormed the mosque at around 1:30am.
“As I am talking now, we are yet to ascertain the number of those kidnapped during the incident but I can tell you that many of our people, including men and women were affected,” he said.
According to him, the gunmen hit the scene riding on motorcycles, carrying sophisticated weapons, and went after the worshippers.
…Kill trader, abduct wife
Also in Samaru, behind NTA, a group of suspected terrorists killed a trader, Ashiru Nagoma, and abducted his wife.
A resident, Malam Usman Samaru, said the hoodlums besieged the area at around 1:00am and began house-to-house operations.
He said the victims resisted the gunmen and was instantly shot dead.
“The bandits after killing Ashiru Nagoma, they took away his wife and neighbor and now in their captivity. We are living in fear of the bandits attack all the time and we are calling on Zamfara state government and federal to come to our rescue before these dreaded terrorists to finish us,” he pleaded.
“Day in day out, we are facing serious threats to our life by the bandits, and we have reported this matter to appropriate authorities. But unfortunately, no action taken by the authorities concerned,” said Samaru.
The gunmen had last week launched similar attack on worshipers in Keta District of Tsafe local government of the state, killing the chief Imam and kidnapping many others.
Blueprint correspondent reports that the areas of Damba, Mareri, Tsauni and Samaru, all in Gusau, have in recent time, become hot spots for the terrorists.
The police spokesman in the state, ASP Yazid Abubakar, could not be reached by our correspondent as at the time of this report.
…Abducted Katsina children freed
In a related development, the Katsina state Police Command has confirmed the release of 30 children, twenty four hours after they were abducted by terrorists in the state.
The children were abducted Monday while searching for fire in Kasai village in the Batsari local government area of the state.
The police public relations officer in the state, Abubakar Sadiq, confirmed their release to journalists Tuesday, and that they had since reunited with their families.
“Following a concerted effort by the command, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, we’ve achieved positive outcome,” ASP Sadiq stated.
“This was achieved through the swift action taken by authorities upon receiving the distressing report,” he said.