Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Samaila Sule, and five others, while several villagers were abducted as the gunmen attacked Farin Ruwa village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

Some community members said that the attack happened on January 5, when armed bandits invaded the community and overpowered the security personnel, adding that the attack was terrible.

They explained that it was revealed that the corpse of Samaila Sule, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, was recovered at the scene after the attack.

The bodies of five other villagers were also found following the incident, the villagers lamented.

“During the attack, the gunmen reportedly seized Sule’s AK-47 rifle along with 30 rounds of live ammunition,” they added.

Recall that in October 2025, no fewer than 73 residents of two villages in Zamfara State have been abducted following coordinated midnight attacks by armed bandits in Bukkuyum Local Government Area, according to a security report.

The abductions reportedly took place in Buzugu and Rayau villages in the early hours of 18 October, when gunmen stormed the communities and took away scores of villagers.

A counterinsurgency publication, Zagazola Makama, disclosed the incident in a security alert posted on X on Monday evening. It said the attackers arrived in large numbers and were heavily armed.

“Zagazola learnt that the incident occurred at about 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 18, when armed bandits in large numbers, wielding sophisticated weapons, invaded the two villages and whisked away the victims to an unknown destination,” the publication stated.

According to the report, the victims were seized during the raid and taken away before security operatives could respond. It added that efforts were underway to secure their release and stabilise the affected areas.

Zamfara State has remained one of the flashpoints of banditry in north-west Nigeria, where rural communities have faced repeated attacks involving killings, abductions and mass displacement despite ongoing military and security operations. (Guardian)

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