Terrorists suspected to be bandits kidnapped over 100 people, mostly women and children, in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Northwest Nigeria.
The attack was carried out on four different villages on Friday night after the Isha’i prayer for refusing to pay protection levies imposed on them.
The affected villages are Mutumji, Sabongari Mahuta, Kwanar Dutsi, and Unguwar Kawo, all under the Maru Local Government Area.
Residents told the BBC Hausa Services that the gunmen were loyal to Damina, a terrorist kingpin in the area. They said the gunmen came on motorbikes and surrounded the villagers before taking them into the forest.
“We were sitting in a place called Yar Kasuwa after the Isha’i prayers when the terrorists stormed the community. They surrounded the community while others drove into the community centre. We began running but it was already too late. They matched the people into the forest,” a local told the BBC.
Residents of the area said that the gunmen had been plaguing the area for a long time, harassing tax collectors and that they attacked on Friday while efforts were being made to collect money for them.
“We are trying to collect the money – twenty and fifty to be collected, but suddenly the bandits came in and robbed people. Damina took more than a hundred people, and most of them were women and young people,” a local said.
A N50m levy was imposed on Mutumji, N30m on Kwanar Dutsi, N20m on Sabongari Mahuta, and N10m on Unguwar Kawo, it was gathered.
Several attempts to get reactions from the state government and police authorities in the state were not successful.
The latest abduction was barely a week after 15 people were abducted in the Ruwandoruwa community of the same local government.
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