Terrorists have kidnapped one of the most senior members of an Emirate council in Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria. 

The abduction of Alhaji Ibrahim Sarkin Fada, the District Head of Kasuwar Daji and a leader in the Kaura-Namoda Emirate Council, happened in the early hours of Thursday, April 27, his family said. 

There was gunfire as the kidnappers forced back people who tried to prevent the Sarkin Fada from being taken, witnesses told HumAngle. The kidnapping comes after a few weeks of relative peace in the area, according to relatives.  

The son of the kidnapped District Head, Anas Ibrahim Sarkin Fada, Dan-Lawan Gummi, confirmed the incident to HumAngle. There had been several attempts to kidnap his father in the past seven months, people in the area say. 

“I was in Gusau when the incident happened,” he said. “I received a telephone call from home that our father, the Sarkin Fada of Kasuwar Daji, was abducted.”

A witness to the attack in Kasuwar Daji, Umar Mohammed said there had been gunfire and chaos when the attack began. 

God’s protection

“We know there have been several failed attempts to abduct the District Head,” Mohammed said,  “however, that did not deter us from praying for God’s protection on him against the armed criminal gangs. It has been quite a long time since we heard of incidents of attacks in this axis, but the terrorists have now resumed.” 

Neither Zamfara State Government nor the Kaura-Namoda Emirate Council has yet released a statement over the abduction of the District Head. 

Several calls and text messages sent to the State Commissioner of Security and Home Affairs, Ibrahim Mamman Tsafe, and the Secretary of the Kaura-Namoda Emirate Council were unanswered. 

Similarly, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Zamfara State Police Command, Mohammed Shehu, could not be reached by phone.