The Chairman of Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nura Abdullahi, has been abducted by armed bandits following a deadly attack on his residence in the early hours of Saturday.
The assailants, who reportedly stormed Bungudu town in large numbers, overpowered the chairman's security team before whisking him away.
Residents said the attackers engaged security personnel attached to the chairman's residence in a fierce gun battle that left four members of his security detail dead. The victims were said to include two police officers and two local vigilantes.
A resident of the area, Abdullahi Na Allah Said, said the gunmen initially abducted the council chairman alongside his wife and children before fleeing towards a nearby forest.
"They kidnapped him along with his wife and their children and moved into the forest," he said.
According to the resident, despite resistance from the security personnel, the attackers succeeded in carrying out the abduction after a prolonged exchange of gunfire.
Attempts to obtain comments from the spokesperson of the Zamfara State Police Command were unsuccessful, as calls to his telephone line were not answered.
Meanwhile, the Joint Task Force in the North-West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, said troops had launched an intensive search-and-rescue operation to secure the chairman's release.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the task force's Media Information Officer, Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja, the military confirmed that the terrorists overpowered the chairman's police and vigilante escorts before abducting him and members of his family.
Danja disclosed that troops responded promptly after hearing gunfire and engaged the attackers in a fierce firefight, forcing them to abandon five members of the chairman's family.
The rescued victims include two children, the chairman's mother, his wife and another relative.
However, the gunmen escaped into the surrounding bush with the council chairman.
The military said the attack claimed the lives of two police officers and one vigilante attached to the chairman's security team. It added that a civilian was also killed, while the chairman's elder brother, Alhaji Bello Umar, sustained injuries.
According to the statement, a coordinated rescue operation involving troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services and local vigilantes is ongoing, with security forces combing suspected terrorist hideouts in a bid to rescue the abducted chairman.
"The Theatre Command has deployed all available resources in the ongoing operation and remains in close coordination with participating security agencies," the statement said.
The command assured the Zamfara State Government and residents that every lawful operational measure was being taken to ensure the safe rescue of the council chairman, while urging members of the public to remain calm and provide credible information to security agencies to support the ongoing operation.
Leave a Reply