Terror returned to Zamfara State on Monday as armed bandits stormed a mosque in Gidan Turbe village, Tsafe Local Government Area, abducting no fewer than 40 worshippers during early morning prayers — a chilling sign of the collapse of fragile peace deals in the region.
Local sources said the attackers struck at about 5:30 a.m. while residents were observing prayers, surrounding the mosque and forcing the worshippers into the nearby forests around the Gohori axis in Tsafe.
The assault came barely hours after another group of gunmen kidnapped 12 villagers at Godai in Bukkuyum LGA, highlighting a surge in violence across the North-West.
Security officials say the attacks mark a major setback for the peace agreement recently signed on August 28 between community leaders and bandit groups in Kurfi LGA of Katsina State. That pact, brokered by the Maradin Katsina, Alhaji Mansur Amadu Kurfi, and the local government chairman, Babangida Abdullahi Kurfi, had been touted as a breakthrough to end years of bloodshed, kidnappings, and cattle rustling.
“The bandits have no command, structure, or control. You can negotiate with bandits in Katsina while they continue to strike in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Kaduna,” a local source told counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama.
Widening Insecurity
The Zamfara State Police Command confirmed receiving a distress call from the Divisional Police Officer in Bukkuyum and said security personnel have been deployed to pursue the kidnappers and rescue the victims.
Meanwhile, troops under Operation Fasin Yamma (OPFY) carried out several counter-terrorism missions across Katsina, Kebbi and Zamfara States in recent days.
- In Kankara LGA, troops of 17 Brigade ambushed terrorists near Gatakawa village, recovering a motorcycle and a mobile phone.
- In Danmusa Forest, troops repelled an ambush on personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), though one operative later died from gunshot wounds.
- In Kebbe LGA of Kebbi, troops of 8 Division Garrison engaged terrorists at Ungushi village, while a civilian injured in the attack was evacuated to Kebbe General Hospital.
- Joint troops and NSCDC operatives also responded to attacks at Tunga Dade and Mera villages in Augie LGA, though the terrorists escaped with a stolen motorcycle.
In Tsafe LGA, troops of 1 Brigade Team 7 on patrol were ambushed around Kuka on their return from Mararaba Kyeware, with two soldiers sustaining gunshot wounds and currently receiving treatment at Tsafe General Hospital and later 1 Brigade Medical Centre.
