Suspected Fulani cattle
herdsmen struck Yar Galadima village of Maru Local government of the state on
Saturday, killing about 70 people. This happened Barely 48 hour after gunmen
killed 22 people in two villages in Zamfara State. Eye witnesses said that the
hoodlums numbered over 70. According to them, they stormed the venue of a
meeting by
vigilance group in the village
to discuss security challenges faced by locals and security officials in the
area and the neighboring states of Kaduna and Niger.
The vigilante caucus present
included youths and community leaders from those states. The turnout in the
meeting was unusually high being the market day of the affected village which
undoubtedly attracted the attention of the armed bandits.
Midway into the meeting,
meanwhile, armed bandits stormed the venue and surrounded the entire building
wielding various forms of sophisticated weapons such as Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs)
and AK 47 rifles, sprayed bullets at those in attendance killing about 70 people on the
spot. Afterwards, they reportedly set fire on the village before fleeing.
The corpses of some of the 70
deceased persons had been deposited at the General Hospital, in Dansadau, while
others were still lying on the ground in the village waiting to be buried by
locals. According to them, more bodies were yet to be recovered from nearby
bushes. Several indigenes have fled the village for safety leaving the village
as a ghost town.
The Police Public Relations
Officer (PPRO), DSP Lawal Abdullahi, confirmed the attack, though he hints that
the figure could be as low as 30 and not the 70 feared dead. He also confirmed
that the Police Commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Bichi, had deployed counter-terrorism
squad to the area in order to forestall further carnage and damage.
Maru Local Government is said
to be the largest local government in Zamfara State and is also known to be the
prone to unrests like the present one.
With this development, Zamfara
has been confirmed as one of the league of states to bear the brunt of Fulani
herdsmen including places like Benue, Plateau, et al.
elombah.com
No comments:
Post a Comment