GUSAU (Zamfara, Nigeria), July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bandits in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara state have slaughtered 33 people they had kidnapped in February despite receiving a $33,700 ransom, while three babies died in captivity, local officials and residents said.
Zamfara and other states in central and northwestern Nigeria have for years been terrorised by criminal gangs who carry out deadly raids, kidnappings and arson attacks.
“The bandits released only 18 of the 51 people they kidnapped from our village and when we asked (the freed hostages) about the 33 others they said they had been slaughtered by their captors,” Kasimu Ibrahim, a resident of Banga village, said.
Local political administrator Mannir Haidara confirmed that some captives had been killed but did not give a number.
Initially stemming from conflict over land and water rights between herders and farmers, the violence has since morphed into organised crime, with gangs taking control of neglected rural communities with little or no government presence.
In February, bandits stormed into Banga village in the Kaura Namoda district on motorcycles and abducted 51 people, including three pregnant women, after killing two others, residents said.
The locals then paid the ransom in two instalments.
But on Friday only 18 captives returned to Banga and reported the killing of 33 fellow captives by their abductors.
“They (bandits) took the money we worked hard to raise, killed 33 of the captives and sent the remaining 18 back to us,” said Altine Bawa, another resident.
Those killed included 29 men and four women, Ibrahim said.
The three abducted pregnant women gave birth while in custody and all three newborns died due to a lack of proper care, said Bawa.
“In all, we lost 38 lives, including the two people killed during the raid and the three infants that died in the hands of the bandits,” Bawa said.
Mannir Haidara, a political administrator for Kauran Namoda, confirmed the killing of the captives, without giving a precise number.
He said those freed were being treated for “severe injuries the bandits inflicted on them from severe beatings while in captivity”.
Aminu Sani Jaji, a federal lawmaker for Kaura Namoda, said he was “deeply saddened by the recent attack on the people of Banga by bandits” in a post on X on Sunday.
He offered “heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured”.
“I apologize for any perceived shortcomings in ensuring the safety and security of our community,” he said, promising to work with the relevant authorities to “enhance security measures, and prevent future occurrences”.
Bandit violence has persisted despite the federal government having deployed the army, while state authorities have recruited vigilantes and paid militia to fight the gangs.
Many bandit groups have reneged on amnesty offers by local authorities.
Meanwhile the criminal gangs, who are motivated by financial gains, have ramped up their cooperation with the jihadists waging a 16-year-old armed insurrection in the northeast.
The recent emergence of the Lakurawa jihadist group in the northwest has worsened violence in the region.
Governments of affected states have been forced to recruit anti-jihadist militia fighting the militants in the northeast to assist in countering the bandits. — NNN-AGENCIES
