President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest killing of tens of people by bandits in Zamfara State, warning that “ such wanton disregard for life will be brought to an end sooner than later.”
No fewer than 50 persons were killed while several others were wounded when bandits invaded over six communities in Zamfara State.
The bandits were said to have carried out the attacks in over six communities in Magami Ward of Gusau Local Government Area and Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Most of the victims of the attack were members of the local vigilante group known as Yansakai keeping watch on their communities.
The affected communities include: Kangon farimana, Ruwan dawa, Yargada, Kunkelai, Yarzaiga, Yar doka Gobirawa, Bayan Banki, and Biyabiki in Gusau and Maru Local Government Areas of the state.
The bandits stormed the communities early hours of Wednesday and started shooting sporadically in the air to scare the locals before unleashing mayhem
Members of the vigilante group who attempted to repel the attack were overpowered by the criminals.
The exact figures of the casualties cannot be ascertained as at the time of filing this report but locals said at least 50 persons were killed during the simultaneous attacks.
Police in the state have confirmed the incident but said troops could not reach out to the scene of the attack as they were not informed in good time due to a lack of mobile phone network in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, President Buhari in a reaction to the incident by his Media Assistant, Malam Garba Shehu said “this insane and persistent violence against innocent people must stop”, adding that “these criminals should stop pushing their luck too far by believing that the government lacks the capacity to crush them.”
He directed the military, security and intelligence agencies to take immediate steps to close all existing gaps in their operations being exploited by criminals to wreak havoc, and expressed hope the Special Operation launched by the military at 3:00am yesterday from Maru Local Government Area will prove decisive in ridding the state of the “frequent and horrifying “bandit activities.
“The violence against poor villagers who are struggling with poverty and other severe economic challenges is not going to be tolerated by this administration,” the President warned.
President Buhari also called on the security forces to “redouble their efforts in bringing an end to this mindless violence against innocent people.”
“Let’s not give these criminals any opportunity to succeed by taking the war to their own camps and stop them in their tracks before they even have the time to respond under our massive fire power.”
He reassured the people of Zamfara State that, “despite the latest setback in our efforts to protect our citizens, there will be no compromise in our determination to defeat these enemies of humanity.