A few hours after abducting 23 farmers, terrorists operating in the Zurmi area of Zamfara, North West Nigeria, have launched yet another attack. Around 12:45 a.m. on April 30, the criminal gangs stormed the main town of Zurmi local government area, attacking residents and ravaging their homes.

Earlier on April 29, the military had deployed its personnel to foil an impending attack in Zurmi, but the terrorists found a way to kidnap 23 persons in another part of the town.

The terrorists killed one person and kidnapped four others in the fresh attack after realising that the military had left the area they wanted to attack earlier in the Zurmi administrative centre.

Isiyaka Magaji, an eyewitness, told HumAngle that the armed marauders outsmarted security agents deployed in the area, using a divided attention approach.

“We understand that the armed gang manoeuvred their earlier mission to attack the Zurmi town at the time they planned to. So they resorted to attacking Gandasamu and three other communities instead on Monday,” he said.

The terrorists would later invade Zurmi by foot in three separate groups through Mayasa village in the night, eyewitnesses said. 

“The criminal group kidnapped four persons, killed one and also injured a member of the Community Protection Guard locally known as Askarawa,” Balamu Ibran, another Zurmi resident, told HumAngle. 

The latest attack followed a series of others in Zurmi, including the invasion of an Emirate council on April 24, leading to the abduction of top senior royal guards to the Emir of the town. The terrorists also destroyed the MTN telecommunications mast to prevent the residents from calling for help. 

HumAngle contacted Yazid Abubakar, the Police Public Relations Officer in Zamfara, for comment, but he could not be reached at the time of compiling this report.