Thirty-five kidnapped victims of Banga village in Kaura-Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State were said to have been slaughtered by bandits for failure to pay N35 million ransom.
An indigene of the village, Sani Suleiman, disclosed this in a telephone interview on Sunday, stating that bandits had kidnapped 53 people from the village, where they demanded the sum of one million naira from each of the captives.
According to him, the 53 kidnapped victims had been in captivity for several months, but only 18 of them who were able to pay the ransom were released.
He maintained that the remaining 35 captives who could not pay the ransom were slaughtered one after the other.
He said, “Those who were released after paying the ransom told us that the bandits slaughtered the remaining 35 captives who could not pay the ransom one after the other in their presence.”
Suleiman further explained that their village was currently under the bandits’ control.
He called on the state government to come to their aid and deploy security personnel to the area before the inhabitants flee to other places for safety.
When contacted for reaction, the Special Adviser to Governor Dauda Lawal on security Matters, Ahmed Danmanga, said he was aware of the incident but did not know the exact number of residents who were killed.
Danmanga maintained that the state government has deployed the mobile police to the village to prevent further attacks by bandits.
He said, “I am aware that the bandits have killed some residents of Banga village, but actually I don’t know the exact number of people killed.
“As I am talking to you now, we have deployed mobile police to protect the lives and properties of the people of the village.
“Zamfara State Government is working around the clock to ensure that the people of the state are given maximum protection against banditry and other criminal activities.
“We are, however, handicapped due to an inadequate number of security personnel,” Danmanga concluded.
