No fewer than three Soldiers and five villagers were reported to have been killed by bandits during an attack in Kabasa village of Zamfara State.
Aside from the victims, who were killed while repelling bandits’ attack in Magami District, Gusau Local Government Area of the state, scores of bandits were said to have been slain and bodies removed from the scene.
As gathered, the villagers, who trooped out en masse on Wednesday to protect themselves when the bandits entered their village, were said to have engaged the bandits in a fight that lasted for several minutes.
An eyewitness said: “The bandits and the villagers fought for more than three hours before the military men who were stationed in Magami town came to the scene for help”.
Reacting to the tragedy, the Zamfara State Government expressed shock at the reported attack and extended his heartfelt condolences to families of the victims as well as prayed to God to grant the souls of the departed, eternal rest.
In a statement by the state Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara said, “The Executive Governor is saddened and disturbed by this sad event and strongly condemned it which led to the loss of lives in the village.”
“The government has already directed security agencies in the state to carry out a full investigation into the incident and report back to the government for action,” he added
Meanwhile, the standing committee for the assessment of damages constituted by the state government has been instructed to visit the community to assess the level of damages inflicted on the community.
All efforts to get comments from Operation Hadarin Daji, to ascertain the number of officers affected during the attack proved abortive.
