Suspected bandits have abducted 50 elderly residents of Magamin Diddi village in the Magami/Faru ward of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
According to Daily Trust, the victims were seized by a notorious bandit leader known as Jammo, who reportedly controls the Muntsira Forest axis of Maradun LGA. The elderly men were said to have embarked on a peace mission to engage the bandits after repeated restrictions on access to local markets.
Confirming the incident, the councillor representing Magami/Faru ward, Bello Husseini, said Jammo had previously clashed with the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards, popularly known as Askarawa, during which two of his lieutenants were killed and their rifles recovered.
Husseini further disclosed that during the last Ramadan period, the bandits launched a retaliatory attack, killing two members of the Askarawa outfit and carting away their rifles.
According to the councillor, Jammo later sought reconciliation after one of his fighters was killed during a recent military operation in Kandare village. Despite the state government’s stance against negotiations with bandits, some community members agreed to engage him.
The communities subsequently constituted a 50-member delegation to meet with the bandit leader. However, upon their arrival, Jammo allegedly turned against them and abducted the group, later releasing 11 of the captives.
Husseini said the bandit leader is demanding N24 million in exchange for the three rifles recovered during previous confrontations.
“We are against any form of reconciliation because we know they are not trustworthy. They can tell one truth among a hundred lies. The people he held hostage were elderly men, and he had no justification for detaining them. He deceived them by claiming he was tired of banditry and wanted peace,” Husseini said.
The councillor added that he had been forced to relocate from his ward because of the persistent insecurity in the area, reiterating his opposition to any form of dialogue with bandits.
Also speaking on the incident, the Chairman of Maradun Local Government Area, Bello Dosara, said the delegation met with the bandit leader without the approval of the government.
“We are against reconciliation with bandits, and Governor Dauda Lawal has never supported such arrangements. Unfortunately, some members of the community decided to proceed on their own,” Dosara said.
