In the Kanoma district of the Maru local government area in Zamfara state, a squad of armed bandits is said to have slain around sixty vigilante members and civilians.
In a phone chat with Blueprint, a local resident who begged to remain anonymous claimed that numerous vigilante members were seriously injured in the gunfight with the criminals.
He claims that last Monday, more than 200 vigilante members organized themselves in cooperation with the local people and made an attempt to approach the bandits’ camp in the Dangulbi Forest.
Their action came after the criminal groups’ constant attacks on the community.
He claimed that the towns of Kanoma, Bingi, and Ruwan Doruwa were home to the majority of the impacted communities and vigilante members.
“As I speak with you, no one is able to enter the location of the tragedy to remove the deceased people’s corpses in preparation for their funerals.
He continued, “As I speak now, many of the vigilante members have gone missing, and we are in a really terrible moment as a result of the bandits’ fear of attacking our areas.”
He also urged the federal and state governments to assist them in evacuating the dead so that they could be buried properly by sending military.
The source added, “I am calling on both the federal government and the state government of Zamfara to come to our assistance as a matter of urgency by deploying security operatives in our areas to enable us to evacuate the bodies of those who lost their lives for burial.”
Nevertheless, attempts to get in touch with ASP Yazid Abubakar, the public relations officer for the Zamfara State Police Command, regarding the issue were unsuccessful at the time of publication
