A total of 38, among 56 persons kidnapped by bandits in Banga Village of Kaura Namoda local government area of Zamfara State were reportedly killed after payment of over N50 million as ransom for their release.
A resident of the area, Aminu Musa Banga, told LEADERSHIP via telephone that the 56 people were abducted by bandits in his village in recent months with a demand of N1 million each as ransom for their release.
However, Banga lamented that only 18, among the abducted persons were released alive while 38 others were killed after the bandits received the ransom.
“These bandits killed 38 of our men and one woman while they were in their custody. We received this report from 16 of our people who were released by these bandits,” he told our reporter.
He added that, “The bandits slaughtered them one by one after we paid a ransom of over N50 million.”
Banga stated that the area is currently under the control of the bandits, revealing further that many villages surrounding Banga Village have been evacuated due to bandit attacks.
He also appealed to the Federal Government as well as Zamfara State Government to come to their aid by deploying soldiers in the area to restraint the bandits who have continued to plague the community and for restoration of peace.
When contacted, the Chairman of Kaura-Namoda local government area, Hon. Mannir Mu’azu Haidara confirmed the incident.
Haidara said the remaining victims released by the bandits were on serious conditions from injuries inflicted on them while due to beatings by the bandits.
He added that they were receiving treatment in the hospital at Kaura Namoda.
“God willing, we will not be tired of continuing to take appropriate measures and working hand in hand with security agencies and the State Government under the leadership of Dr. Dauda Lawal, which is firmly committed to overcoming this problem of insecurity that plagues us day and night,” Haidara said.
Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) Zamfara State Command, Yazid Abubakar, told our correspondent on the telephone that Police were not aware of the incident as nobody reported any case of such nature from the area.
According to him, such matters should have been reported by the community to appropriate authorities like the security agencies.
He added that communities should report issues concerning kidnappings and other criminal cases on time for necessary actions to be taken at the right time.
