The Zamfara State Police Command has stated that bandits assaulted and killed a man known as Ashiru Nagoma and seized his wife and neighbor in Buluku, on the outskirts of Gusau Local Government Area of the state.
The spokesperson for the command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, verified to PUNCH Online on Tuesday.
This occurred following a post on X (formerly Twitter) by a Maiduguri-based security expert, Zagazola Makama, who raised an alert that bandits snuck into Gusau town to abduct numerous worshippers in a mosque while observing midnight prayers around 2 am.
“Regrettable. In the early hours of Tuesday at about 0200hr, bandit sneaked into Gusau Town and abducted several worshippers in a Mosque while they were observing tahajjud (midnight) prayers,” he wrote.
However, addressing the incident, Abubakar emphasized that the late Nagoma had resisted an attack by the gunmen, and they, in turn, killed him and abducted his wife and neighbor.
“The bandits did not attack the mosque. They had a target, and it was the man that was attacked. His wife and neighbor were abducted.
“Our rescue team is on top of the situation and is making frantic efforts to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book and the abducted victims are rescued. An investigation is also ongoing,” he maintained.
The PUNCH had in February reported that bandits abducted scores of worshippers in one of the mosques in Tsafe town, the headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
A resident of the area, simply identified as Garba, told PUNCH Online that the bandits invaded the mosque around 5 a.m. when the people were about to start the morning prayer.
Garba said, ”We were about to start the morning prayer today, Thursday, when suddenly they (bandits) entered the mosque and directed everybody to go out and follow them.
“Everybody ran for safety, but the bandits blocked every exit and warned us that they would kill anybody who tried to run away.”
