Zamfara Elders Abduction: 1 Dies In Captivity As Another Escapes, Narrates ordeal

Following the abduction of 39 village elders during a failed peace meeting in a Zamfara Forest, one of the abductees, Bako Abdullahi Yarfara, 67, has died in captivity while another victim, Ali Zagaru, has escaped from the abductors.

In an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP on Wednesday morning, Ali Zagaru, who escaped captivity on Tuesday night, said; “one of the elders by name Bako Abdullahi Yarfara has been killed. He was killed on the 7th day of June, the day Jammo’s boys abducted us. The abductors were hurrying us into the thick forest, our brother, Bako Abdullahi Yarfara, could not walk very fast, so they shot him and killed him. They carried his body to one nearby village and buried him according to Islamic rites.”

According to Ali Zagaru, the bandit kingpin Jammo was demanding N125million from the Magamin Diddi Community. He said N25million was for the two AK-45 guns Askarawa Security Forces collected after killing his men and N100million ransom to release the elders and allow the Magamin Diddi Community to farm without interruption.

“Jammo’s camp is like living in hell, they tortured us mercilessly every morning and evening, we ate only once since the day they took us in. Thank God I managed to take a secret path to escape from the camp,” Ali Zagaru added.

Also speaking exclusively with LEADERSHIP, Ibrahim Ahmed, the young brother of the slain elder Bako Abdullahi Yarfara, lamented: “It is a very painful loss but we leave every thing to God, He knows best. My brother had one wife with six children. We were told they buried him close to one village. How long do we continue like this? Security men are trying their best, but we need more security men with more weapons. We don’t have hope of farming for now.”