Rita Odafe
More than 150 people have been taken captive by bandits who also stole over 1,000 cattle in several villages within Gobir Emirate, located in Sokoto State.
The assault on the villages happened shortly after the Emir of Gobir, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa, who served as the District Head of Gatawa, was murdered while in captivity.
The ruler, along with his son and six others, was abducted on July 29 while traveling on the Sokoto-Sabon Birni Road.
A video circulating online showed the late Emir, bound and pleading for assistance to meet the ransom demanded by the abductors.
Following the expiration of the ransom deadline, Bawa was killed.
Local youths protested after the district head’s death, prompting the state government to enforce a curfew in Sabon Birni.
Shortly after the district head’s demise, bandits returned to the area.
Professor Bello Bada from the Department of English at Usmanu Danfodio University in Sokoto confirmed the recent abductions.
He expressed concern over the community’s proximity to the bandits and the apparent familiarity some individuals had with them.
He raised questions about the ease with which the bandits operated and the lack of intervention from residents or authorities.
A member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly representing Sabon Birni (North), Aminu Boza, disclosed that a total of 151 individuals were abducted between Tsamaye and Sabon Birni.
He detailed the subsequent attacks in other villages resulting in additional abductions and loss of land to the bandits.
The lawmaker urged the federal government to address the challenges faced by the Sabon Birni residents.
